Battling in the mind is a fight that I’ve been in my entire life. From childhood to adulthood, controlling my thoughts was a challenge for me. For many years I believed that I was going insane. I felt that I was strange, and it was abnormal to have the kind of thoughts I was having. And I prayed countless times for God to change me.
For most of my childhood, I doubted if anyone loved me. My mother’s lack of nurturing and her negative emotions towards me left me feeling empty inside. To compensate for the absence of love that I felt, I made up my own rules about people and life. In my mind, people were to love me in a way that I wanted. If I felt that their love did not match my liking, I would remove them from my life. I had to be the one in control and know the outcome of every situation in my life.
My standards were far too high for anyone to reach. I made it difficult for anyone to get close to me. I didn’t want to be hurt or disappointed by anyone, so I kept the guard around my heart high. I struggled with trusting people, and I made that known to the people I was around. I wore my self-confidence with pride and depended only upon myself. Everyone around me thought that I was a well put together person. But what they didn’t know was that I was dying inside.
I had no peace. My thoughts raced constantly. I cried so many nights for ease, hoping that the pain would stop, but it didn’t go away. But, all of that changed for me when I decided to surrender my life fully to Jesus. I made up my mind that I would live my life according to His Word.
Having Jesus in my life has proven to be the solution to my mental struggles. He is the one who keeps my mind and allows me to enjoy life in ways I never thought possible. I didn’t even know we could be happy or have peace here on earth. I remember crying the first time I felt genuine joy, and I was so thankful to God for allowing me to experience it. I know that many people grapple with mental health issues, and I know firsthand that it is a real struggle. But I also know that by the Power of God, you can be set free. It is true, though, that once you give your life to Jesus Christ, you don’t automatically feel better. You must be intentional about the pursuit of God and fight for what’s yours in Christ.
Some people give up too soon and decide to go back to worldly pleasures to find peace when going through battles in the mind. But it’s essential to have faith and trust God, even when it’s hard. We have to go into prayer and find Bible verses that encourage us to hold on in times of difficulty. We must also surround ourselves with people who will pray for us as we are praying for ourselves.
God does not like it when we are going through mental issues in our minds. It is not His will for us to feel unloved, helpless, and lost. So many of us are seeking to be healed mentally without seeking after it in the right way. We have to go before God humbly and have faith in what He said, regardless of how we feel. We must be willing to fight daily, trusting in His word and not giving up, even if we don’t see or feel changes right away. We can’t allow the hopeless and lost feelings we have to outweigh our faith in what God has promised us in His Word.
Believing is not always easy. Sometimes we are going to have to disregard our understanding and choose to believe what God says. Our faith has to override our fear. We have to consider what God says above what we fear. No matter how many negative thoughts come through our minds, we must believe what God said even more. His Word stands supreme over all things.
In this regard, my testimony to you is that God is faithful, and we can put our trust in Him! I know you may feel like no one understands or gets what you’re going through, but God does, and you can entirely give your heart to Jesus! If you can not only believe but receive what He says in His Word and accept it as His Word to you, God will strengthen you through your battles. Stay faithful, and keep your trust in God. He will see you through.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)
Stay in the fight! God bless you.
Let us pray: Father, only You know the intensity of the battles we war within our minds. I pray that by the Power of Your Spirit, You guide us to learn of the complete trust we can have in You. Help us to understand that in Your Word, we have deliverance and freedom. Be our peace Lord and keep our minds through our fears. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
