The Battle of the Mind

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9

As a wounded pastor, one of the most difficult battle fields is in my own mind.  Every situation, conversation, text, or email that I encounter causes me to make a choice about what I see in front of me.  Is the wounded brain going to think or the healing brain? The wounded brain tells me, “here we go again,” or “this is going to cause another battle,” or “you can’t trust this one,” and many other thoughts that come from being hurt by the church and ministry.  The healed brain tells me that this situation can be trusted and allows me to take what I am facing independently of my past experiences.

The only way to win this battle is to do exactly what 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us, which is, “take every thought captive.” This means that every thought must be slowed down, weighed and measured against real truth. This allows us to determine if the thought is kept and acted on or dismissed altogether.  I know, easier said than done when one is early on in the healing process, but it does get easier with time. 

I have also learned that the battle of the mind is not one that we must fight alone. One of my greatest blessings in ministry and in this healing process has been my wife. By allowing her into this space, I share some of these thoughts with her and she lovingly tells me whether I am thinking out of the right or the wrong brain.

Nevertheless, it all boils down to Philippians 4:8-9.  If I can train my mind to think on “these things” (remember, things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely, true) then the battle becomes manageable and the peace that God speaks of will be evident not only in my thoughts but also in my practice.  The barrage of thoughts that come with the things mentioned above no longer have to scare me or shut me down because I have the tools to weed out the junk and keep the truth.  It is a bit like having a spam folder for your email inbox.  I don’t have to spend time with those thoughts because they are spam and the Philippians test gets rid of them.  This leaves me with the energy to dwell on thoughts that matter and are constructive. 

I will pray for you as you also win the battle of the mind. 

The Wounded Pastor,

Dr. Matthew Tanner