Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37
Do you, like many, make New Year’s resolutions? If so, how are you doing this year? Have you given up already on all those good changes you wanted to make? What do your resolutions focus on—losing weight? –exercising regularly? –eating better? –spending more quality time with family? –getting that home project going finally? These are all good goals; they reflect a desire to reset priorities so that we take better care of ourselves and our families.
But our gracious Lord is looking for a more significant, an eternal, change in us. He wants a permanent change of our minds. We recognize the focus passage as Jesus’ summary of the first table of the law. This is his will for our relationship with him. And, as believers, we know and worship the only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trouble arises, though, if we tend to compartmentalize our worship, limiting it to corporate worship, daily devotions, prayers with our children, and group Bible study, but not letting our lives be our worship.
I struggle with this – and I doubt I’m alone – this idea of letting the Lord control all of me, all of my moments, all of my energies. It begins with my mind. Paul wrote to the Romans (2:2), “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (emphasis mine and following). This would be a truly valuable resolution – to change your mind! No, not the “it’s a woman’s right to change her mind” thinking, but real, substantive change that only the Spirit can make in us. Pray with David as he wrote in Psalm 26:2, “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and mind.”
When the Lord examines my mind, too often he finds negative thinking, criticism, discontent, even contempt of others. That is not in accord with what Jesus commands! That shows that I do not have my eyes fixed on Jesus, my thoughts on things eternal. No, that shows the wily ways of the great liar, Satan, our powerful, but vanquished, enemy! Satan knows just how to nudge a wedge into our minds to get us to succumb to his subtle temptations. Remember how he got into Eve’s mind. He offered this thought: “Did God really say…?” He chipped out a little foothold in Eve’s thinking so that he could gain control of her mind and heart, turning her focus from the gracious Creator God, with whom she walked and talked, to thoughts about herself and what she could gain. That’s all it took. That’s all it took to plunge mankind forever under the curse of sin.
Resolve this year, this day and every day, to be watchful for the ways Satan works in your mind to cause you to sin. “Do not give the devil a foothold,” (Ephesians 4:27). Most of us have learned to control the outward aspects of our lives so that our husbands’ ministries are not harmed by sins others would notice. But that isn’t all the Lord wants, and it can end up being a hypocritical façade we put on even though, inwardly, our hearts are not always the Lord’s. No, we want every aspect of our beings—attitudes, desires, thoughts, energies, words, and actions—to flow from minds and hearts under the Spirit’s control.
This, of course, is not something humanly possible: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but ... against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil.” (Ephesians 6:12) So we rely on the omnipotent only true God to guard and guide our minds and hearts. We put on the armor he has provided—his truth, his righteousness, his gospel of peace, his gift of faith, his salvation (our defensive weapons), and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (our effective offensive weapon)! (from Ephesians 614-17) The result is amazing!
Whenever you find negativity in your attitudes and thoughts, remember the picture in Psalm 1: The person whose delight is in the Lord’s will and who meditates on his Word is like a tree continuously nourished by fresh, clean water, a tree that never withers and always produces its intended fruit. That can be you and I. We can use God’s Word in our own thought processes and in conversations with family, friends, coworkers, fellow-believers, and those who are still under Satan’s dominion. Find a simple method to recognize and stop negative thinking (like snapping a rubber band on your wrist or keeping key Scriptures where you can see them), so that you can turn to the Lord and let him bring your mind back into harmony with his will. Follow the Spirit’s advice given through Paul, “Whatever is true, ... noble, ... right, ... pure, ... lovely, … admirable, … excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) Then Satan has no chance to control us; his might is ineffective against what is good.
King David gave God’s good advice to his people, recorded in 1 Chronicles 28:9, “Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind.” This is a resolution worth making! In fact, it will help us meet the goals of our good earthly resolutions. The Lord wants to accomplish this in us, and he provides his holy Word and sacraments to make it happen.
Ask the Lord
Holy Spirit, live in my heart and mind moment by moment all the days of my life that I may serve my Savior with my entire being! Thank you for your gift of faith in Jesus, and strengthen me so that my life reflects his glory. Amen.
