A young man struggles in his mind. Having suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of his father, he developed mental illness.
He turned to drugs to soothe the pain. Then he turned to crime to support the drug habit.
He spent time in prison.
In
the midst of that darkness, Jesus reached out to him.
And he got saved.
He has remained clean from illegal drugs. He is on medication to
stabilize the mental illness. He is working to rebuild his life.
Even though he is a new creation Spiritually in Christ, his mind still needs healing.
The same pattern of thinking the enemy kept him in bondage to in the past keeps threatening to enslave his future.
He needs help. Many of us need help with our minds too. In many ways, I believe that our minds are
like Jello.
Imagine a pan of red gelatin that is set in the refrigerator. It cools and solidifies.
Now imagine someone takes a syringe of hot
water and uses it to draw a line in that Jello. You've now got a track in the Jello.
I believe that something similar happens in our brains. Many of us have developed specific ways of thinking to handle pain, fear, and stress.
We think that same way for so long that a neural "track" is formed in our brains - like the track in the Jello.
Our brains learn the pattern so well that whenever we face painful, fearful, or stressful
situations, those same patterns of thought run automatically along the old track.
The more the track is used, the wider and deeper it gets.
But there is hope to get free from that.
Romans 12:2 says,
"And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
The Lord would not have said that transformation is possible if it were impossible for us. That would make Him a liar, which He is
not.
The below scriptures are among my favorites regarding healing the mind:
- "He sent His word and healed
them, And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20)"
- "Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth (Jeremiah 33:6)."
With these scriptures in mind, I wrote a "Heal My Mind, Lord" prayer
for those who are struggling in their minds today. May the word set you free!