When Our Mind Tries to lead
We have been recognizing that we are created as three part beings, spirit, soul and body. I cringe to put it in such crude and simple terms, but if our body was the car our soul would be the driver behind the wheel, stepping on the gas and brake. Our spirit would be the part of us that looks over at the passenger seat, asking Holy Spirit where He wants to go explore. So in the car ride of your life, who is calling the shots?
Last week we started to look at the above question; which part of our three part being is leading in our lives? Taking time to examine what it means to be led by the spirit. If you need to catch up, check out last weeks blog, Spirit Led. This week we turn our attention to the soul, learning how to recognize where and when our soul is leading and what that means for us.
What is Our Soul?
Our soul is where our personality and character are formed. We interact with the world around us through our soul. Made up of a few parts the soul includes:
- Mind – our thoughts, conscious, and subconscious
- Will – our ability to choose, decide, or refuse
- Emotions – our feelings
We will look at the three areas above and take time to acknowledge in each if we are being spirit led or soul led. Today we turn our attention to the mind.
The Thoughts in Our Mind
Since our thoughts are made up of conscious and subconscious thoughts, it is the things we focus on, and what we take in throughout the day that we will find coming up in our thoughts. Do you notice what you find yourself thinking about most often? Do you ever do an inventory of your thoughts? I wonder if we did what kind of path we would find we are building with our thoughts. Where are our thoughts leading us?
How about this one? If you’re honest with yourself, where does your mind seem to go first thing in the morning as soon as you open your eyes? Is it singing praises for a new day? A fresh opportunity to connect with God and love those around you? Or is it already fretting about all the bad things that have yet to happen?
Let’s be clear, the ability to think with the mind we have been given is a blessing from God. It is only when we allow our thoughts to lead over our spirits, that it takes on quite a different feel. So what does it look like to be spirit led in our thoughts?
God’s microscope
For example, as I write this I have thoughts come up. Why am I doing this? No one really wants to read what I have to say. What value am I adding, what is the point? To be soul led means I would continue down this negative thought path, seeing just how deep I can dig myself into it. To be spirit led I need to recognize these thoughts as they pop into my head, take a step back and bring them under God’s microscope. Here are a few questions that are very helpful:
- Are these thoughts true, or are they lies?
- Would God say these things about me or this situation?
- What does the bible say?
We can do a really good job at being hyper critical of ourselves; I know I tend to be hard on myself. The amazing thing is the more we continue to think the same thoughts, the easier it becomes to believe them. Some of us have walked these negative pathways so often, we’ve made ruts in our brain that cause us to naturally gravitate towards fear and failure in many situations.
Changing the Way We Think
The good news is we can change the way we think. Inviting the Holy Spirit into our thoughts and not letting them just run rampant in our minds. To actually be aware of what we are thinking is really important. The Bible puts it this way:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Here’s how we know our thoughts are being spirit led; when we are walking in truth and agreement with what God says about us, and when that is in line with the word of God. Sometimes that truth goes against nearly everything society says is “normal.”
Remember, God’s thoughts are higher than ours and what He can call us into may look like absolute foolishness to the world around us; reading the Bible will show you that. Noah building an arc when it had never rained before, Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume that cost a years wages, and don’t even get me started on the prophets!
Maybe It’s Foolish
When you begin taking every thought captive and placing it at the feet of Jesus, sometimes what He gives you in return seems unbelievable. That’s because He believes in you more than anyone else, and He knows what you are truly capable of. When you think of yourself as sick, He says healed; poor, and He sees rich; dumb, yet He thinks you’re brilliant. What does He have to say about you?
Maybe you have your own story of God leading you and the world calling you foolish. Don’t worry, you’re in good company.
Join us next week as we look at how to be led by the spirit in our will.
Did You Miss Our Other Posts?
Hi there! This post is part of our current series on our three part being; Spirit Soul Body. We’re spending nine weeks focusing on what makes up the complete package called “us.” In case you missed them, here’s a handy reference of all the posts in this series.