A Beautiful Mind
“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, ‘Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?’ But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).
Our minds are a beautiful gift. Our son Robert is fourteen, and since he was a small child we quickly realized he has a strong intellect, an acute recollection of facts and an incredible ability to convince and deliberate to get what he wants. (I know…pray for us! haha) Late last night after drifting off to sleep, I was awakened by Robert gently shaking my arm. “Mom…mom…mom, are you awake? Can I sleep in your bedroom?” Half-asleep with my groggy voice I whispered, “Yes of course, sure honey, go to the couch…night-night…” It didn’t stop. “Mom…mom…did you know that 89% of people sleep better when they’re beside someone they love?” Wow Robert. Great Fact. Don’t care. Go to sleep. I said yes already.
I share that story because it’s sweet, but also because our mind is a gift from God, designed by God, and I have been intentionally surrendering my mind to the Holy Spirit more than ever before. And after several months, I feel like I’ve tapped into a secret of alignment that is changing my entire approach to life!
Having the Holy Spirit take full leadership in our lives is really quite practical. Yet that very statement sounds like a paradox, for if God’s Spirit could be reduced to something that “we do” doesn’t that reduce the whole exercise of being heavenly-minded and spirit-led?
This scripture passage in First Corinthians exhorts to anticipate divine understanding because we have the mind of Christ. The roadblock? The resistance? Our own limited human mind. I don’t know if I would categorize myself as having a strong mind by any means, but I definitely admit to having an over-active one, and arresting each thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ is no small feat! And I also confess having strong ideas and even fierce opinions at times, so this is where the practical part comes to play. We are invited to surrender the beautiful mind God has given us to our spirit-man, and then surrender our spirit to the HOLY Spirit. That is heavenly alignment, and that my friend is when life becomes a beautiful balance of peace and joy, adventure and rest, understanding of our original design and the rhythms of grace.
Today is my day to surrender my mind, ideas, opinions and thoughts to the Holy Spirit. “God, thank you for the beautiful and strong mind you have given me. I submit my mind to my spirit, and then I submit my spirit to the Holy Spirit to take the lead in my life, and in this day. Thank you that I am spiritual and receive truth and understanding that can’t be evaluated by others. Thank you that as I submit my mind to you, I am aligned with your mind, the mind of Christ”.
Have a great day!
Love in Jesus,
Audrey