The Battle - Is it real, is it a dream, or is it a nightmare?

The Blessing - Chris Brown, Steven Furtick, Cody Carnes, Kari Brooke Jobe

(click the link to hear the song)

2020 has allowed the space for lots of songs to surface to the top of my radar and make an impact in ways that only music can. The song lyrics above are taken from a priestly blessing from the Old Testament book of Numbers chapter 6, verses 24-26. Deeply rooted in Israelite culture, to bless is to bestow power and once spoken, can take on a life of its own. As the lyrics of this song progress, one can feel the power of the words if one is allowing them to penetrate to their very heart and soul. The song's climax is the repeated refrain:

"He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you!"

I am sure you would agree with me that the human mind is an incredible thing. It is more complex than anything we have been able to devise, and we have created some amazing things; boxes that send and receive sound waves and communicate back and forth; winged carriages that propel any sort of payload to distant planets; tiny devices that can influence the entire world in a matter of milliseconds, and the list goes on and on. Yet nothing can rival the ability of a mere 3 pounds or 2% of the human anatomy with the texture of a firm jelly called the brain. When I typed into Google “What does the brain do?” I came across a website, “Making Headway Center for Brain Injury Recovery” https://mhwcenter.org/functions-of-a-brain/ and found multiple lists of the many functions of the brain, lists separated by sections of the brain, called lobes. The multitude of simple to complex things our brain does is astounding. It ranges from the tangible like controlling our sense of touch or our ability to walk, to the intangible like our dreams and imagination.

I found myself in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar place. There were several people I loved with me, including my youngest daughter. We were surrounded by a pride of wild lions, male and female, and it was obvious that they were not friendly. While I didn’t want my loved ones to be killed, I did not want to feel the pain of their sharp teeth that would likely puncture my neck. I didn’t want to experience the depth of their claws in my face or arms or legs. It wasn’t so much the fear of dying that I was feeling, but the pain I anticipated experiencing in the last moments of my life.

That event never actually happened to me, except in an early morning dream I had just last night. The dream I had was likely a result of a change of diet, which affects our dreams, scenes from a psychological crime show I had watched before bed, and a Facebook video post I had viewed yesterday about…yes, you guessed it…lions. The dream, that movie in my mind, was a function of that amazing thing between my ears. The mind is also the place where other types of dreams are created. While the situation with the lions was created by my subconscious, we have the ability to consciously create dreams, to create a future born in our minds. Just last night at dinner I was telling a friend about the horse ranch we intend to build in the beautiful hills of the front range between Denver and

Colorado Springs. Right now that dream has as little basis in reality as my lion dream, but our future is born in our minds and the battle to live and fulfill our dreams is won and lost in our minds. If I don't work for and fight for that dream of a home, a few horses, a pool and hot tub, and room for guests, I will lose that dream to the other negative thoughts that are trying to gain a stronghold in my brain.

We talk about our “gut feelings,” which is our intuition or instinct; our immediate understanding of something. We don’t think it over; we just know it. However,

we don’t actually think and come to any understanding in our gut but in our mind. The mind/body connection often causes our emotions to register a physical response as gastrointestinal distress. There is an actual phenomenon called The Mariko Aoki phenomenon referring to an urge to use the bathroom suddenly felt upon entering a bookstore. It is estimated that at least 1 in 10 people experience

this mind/body connection. One survey of working women in Japan between the ages of 22 and 33 resulted in over 26% having answered yes to experiencing this. I have to admit to having experienced the phenomenon on multiple occasions.

Then there is the idea of feeling emotions in our hearts. Love is a “heart-felt” feeling. Belief is something that is said we do with our hearts. As a child, I asked Jesus into my “heart.” That is really a 20th-century expression that does not occur in the Bible. Trusting Christ happens not in the heart, but in the mind. Friends, the heart is a strong

muscle that pumps blood all over the body. One of its connections with the brain is that it is crucial in supplying the blood that carries the oxygen the brain needs to survive. According to Fred Nour, M.D. and Neurologist, over 2,500 Hippocrates got it right when he said “Emotions emanate from the brain.” It would be more accurate to say “I love you from the center of my brain” rather than “I love you from the bottom of my heart” (truelovebook.net). Our emotional center is the mind, not the heart.

Finally, we can’t talk about the gut and the heart as emotional centers without talking about the soul. Britannica.com says “Soul, in religion and philosophy, is the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being, that which confers individuality and humanity, often considered to be synonymous with the mind or the self. In theology, the soul is further defined as that part of the individual which partakes of divinity and often is

considered to survive the death of the body.” It is not going to be the purpose of this post to dive into a discussion about the soul; what it is, how it gets into us, how it leaves, where it goes, etc. I have always oriented the soul with being near my heart, but different than my heart. Ancient anatomists and philosophers credited it with being in the lungs or heart, or as specific as the pineal gland in the brain (Renee Descartes). Based on what I believe to be true about the brain, I would have to agree that the soul is likely part of the brain.

We often think that we understand everything correctly from our vantage point. Our perspective, however right we think it is, is not always the whole picture. Writers of the Bible have things to say about our minds. The book of 2 Corinthians in the New Testament is a letter written by Paul, a follower of Christ, to the people of Corinth. In Chapter 10, verses 3-5 (NIV) he tells them, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.”

2020 brought with it all the effects of isolation, loneliness, and the lack of purpose and drive. BMJ Publishing Group LTD states that “Widely reported studies modeling the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates predicted increases [in suicide] ranging from 1% to 145%” (https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4352). COVID-19, the resulting quarantine, and the economic recession have negatively affected many people’s mental health causing increased anxiety. Some reports say as many as 4 in 10 adults in the US have experienced depressive disorder, a number 4 times greater than in 2019. People report an increase in difficulty sleeping and eating, greater alcohol and substance use, and worsening chronic conditions.

Pandemic or not, we have always been prone to listening to the negative messages that bombard our brains at times. This incredibly fashioned device called the mind is the battleground for every skirmish that leads to either advancement of our cause or decline in our progress as a person. For every dream birthed in our imagination, multiple, if not exponential reasons flood over those dreams in hopes of holding us back. It's like a real-life Fantasmic happening in the recesses of our brains. The Apostle Paul understood that in the realm of our natural mind (call it our gut, our heart, our soul), there is a supernatural military campaign waged against us hoping to dismantle the defenses of our minds. He goes on to say that we have the ability to use spiritual weapons backed with divine power. The Passion Translation says “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One” (2 Cor. 10:5 TPT).

Friends, in 2020 I took up the battle of my mind and mounted a defense against the voices I chose to listen to. I insisted that my mind bow in obedience to God. With the very power of God at work, I demolished every deceptive fantasy; the fantasy that I needed to escape my feelings, the fantasy that the real me would not be loved or accepted, the fantasy that unhealthy things would make me feel better, and the list goes on. In 2021 I even attacked my habits related to food. And with the care and control of God, my mind is now blessed, not a constant battlefield.

98% of our body is designed to facilitate our brain. Think

about it. Every other part of our physical being is a slave to that 3-pound mass between our ears. Our eyes, nose, and ears receive information for our brain to process. Our feet work with our legs to get us where our brain wants or needs to go. Our mouths, usually with help of our hands and arms, take in nourishment so that our brain can function. There are even anatomical parts designed to simply bring us pleasure. Yet no part of the 98% of our body can, on its own, defend our brain against the mental/spiritual/psychological battle that takes place daily in our minds. It is our very minds that we must capture, like prisoners of war, and force into submission for our own good and God's glory.

If you have been waiting for a change in your life, wait no longer. If you have been growing tired of the battle that is raging within you, be on the defensive no more. Whether you are fighting imaginary lions or real loneliness, it is time to go on the offensive and take your thoughts captive. You see, life is too short to make excuses. Life is too short to fight battles that you already have the power to win. Life is too short to continue to defend yourself against the forces you could have defeated by now. You may not understand the battle for the mind completely right now. But Paul speaks to that, as well, in his first letter to the people of Corinth. He says, “For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood. Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run” (1 Cor. 13:12-13 TPT).

The messages you hear in your mind that are bathed in love are the messages from God Himself to you. He knows you completely. He loves you recklessly. He offers you all the power to win the battle, to accomplish the goals and fulfill the calling He set before you. You don’t have to endure stress. Love is patient. You don’t have to listen to the unkind messages in your mind. Love is always kind. You don’t have to wish you had what others have, or feel like you don’t have what it takes. Love is generous. You don’t have to try to convince others that you are the real deal. Love is humble. You don’t have to endure emotional rudeness and abuse. Love is not rude, does not manipulate others, and does not use shame to get its way. You don’t have to be offended or irritable. Real love is not offensive. You don’t have to hide behind lies or endure the dishonesty of others. Love celebrates honesty. You no longer have to settle for what you consider flaws, hurts, habits, or hang-ups. Love conquers and overcomes them. You no longer have to feel alone because love is completely and forever loyal. Focus your mind on love, the love you deserve whether you believe you do or not (1 Cor. 13 TPT).

"He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you

He is for you, He is for you!" 

Thanks for reading,

The Blessing - Chris Brown, Steven Furtick, Cody Carnes, Kari Brooke Jobe

“The Lord bless you and keep you, Make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace

May His favor be upon you and a thousand generations
And your family and your children, and their children, and their children

May His presence go before you and behind you, and beside you, all around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you

In the morning, in the evening, in your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing, He is for you, He is for you

Amen, amen, amen”