The Battle for the Mind
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God” (Rev. 12:10). A biblical theology and psychology should clarify the truth that we are forgiven, but the devil relentlessly accuses the children of God. Many of the believers that I have had the privilege to help have struggled with blasphemous and condemning thoughts as illustrated by the following email that I received:
For years, ever since I was a teenager (I am 36 now), I had these “voices” in my head. There were four in particular and sometimes what seemed like loud choruses of them. When the subject of schizophrenia would be mentioned on television or in a magazine, I would think to myself, I know I am not schizophrenic, but what is this in my head? I was tortured, mocked and jeered, every single thought I had was second guessed, and consequently I had zero self esteem. I used to wish the voices would be quiet, and I always wondered if other people struggled with this, or if it was “common.”
When I started to learn from you about taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and read about other people’s experiences with these voices, I came to recognize them for what they were, and I was able to make them leave. That was an amazing and beautiful thing. To be fully quiet in my mind, after so many years of torment. I do not need to explain further all the wonderful things that come with this freedom of the mind, it is a blessing you seem to know well.
It is not hard to imagine why this lady never felt secure in Christ and forgiven, and she is not unique. She was experiencing a spiritual battle for her mind of which we have been warned: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). That is currently happening all over the world, which is why we must incorporate the whole gospel for complete resolution of people’s problems. Every Christian should know they are forgiven, that Satan is disarmed, and that we have new life in Christ, which is what I will focus on next.
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.