For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7

The phrase mind over matter is largely defined as using the will of the mind to control a physical problem. People often joke that age is a prime example of mind over matter because if you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.

Yesterday, we studied a passage of scripture in our Sunday School lesson that is all too relevant to today’s society. It was Isaiah 6:10 which says, “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.”

What has become painfully obvious in the world today is that we have two groups of people. Those that walk with the Lord and are given wisdom and discernment through Him and those that don’t and are being deceived by the devil. You see the devil is a liar who wants nothing more but to deceive us and make a fool out of us. But when we trust in God and give our all to Him, He gives us wisdom to see right through the devil’s schemes. He shows us that we have no reason to fear for He is with us (Deuteronomy 31:6).

When I have a migraine, I can’t think it or will it away. That is an example of where mind over matter does not work. But when I want to harm someone because of something stupid they said or did, I can control that. My mind can win over in that case. As Christians we are given a spirit of self-control. We don’t have to say everything we think and we don’t have to act on every impulse.

Our mind is capable of controlling our actions. When someone comes against us, the last thing we want to do is pray for them. But I assure you this is the best thing we can do. When we plot evil and revenge against them we are stooping to their level. When we ask God to remove all bitterness from our hearts and we pray for them, God deals with it. They will either turn to God and be someone with whom we can get along or they will refuse to do so and pay the price. It is their choice to make.

As human beings we can choose to use the heads that rest on our shoulders as a hat rack or adorn them with makeup and jewelry and make them pretty or we can use them to make wise decisions. The wisest decision we will ever make is to follow God’s commands and exercise self-control. It is much wiser to trust God to handle things and to follow His directions than to strike out on our own and do it all our way. No good can come from that.

If you profess to be a Christian then mind over matter should refer to your use of self-control. Sometimes the most difficult thing we will do is give it over to God. Sometimes it is so much harder to trust God than it is to just do it our way. It takes a lot more strength to hand it over than it does to handle it.

If you read our scripture passage carefully you will see that self-control is not the only spirit we are given, but we are also given power and love. When we pray to God we are calling on His power. We are unleashing the power of someone for whom all things are possible.

We are given a spirit of love. It’s not always easy to love those who are unlovable, but God calls us to love others and put them above ourselves. He doesn’t say to love only the pretty, easy-going, and easy to get along with people. He commands us to love others. This isn’t always easy. I have learned that if I keep my focus on God, He will enable me to do many things that I could not do without Him.

So what is your mind doing today? Is it set on a bunch of things that really don’t matter? If so, set it on God and trust in Him. If you are doing things that really do matter then pray about these things and ask God to guide you so that you can do them well. When we trust in God and acknowledge Him in all that we do, He sets us on the right path and things work out much better for us (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If you are not suffering from any serious mental issues or disorders then your mind can control your behavior. If you have a problem with that, then trust in God. Dog trainers say that dogs that become aggressive usually do so out of fear. I think that humans often react negatively out of fear also.  But when we trust in God, we have no reason to fear. We can trust in Him to empower us and give us that spirit of love and self-control.

Have a great day!