How to Have a Sound Mind in Tumultuous Times
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7
You may be familiar with this verse and wondered what it means to have a sound mind.
In the last blog post, I shared all about how to identify the spirit of fear in your life… but we can’t really talk about that without addressing what it means to have a sound mind!
This verse indicates that the spirit of fear will always cause us to pick up tools that keep us out of power, love and a sound mind.
What do I mean by that?
Well think about it this way: from a psychological/neurological perspective, when we are afraid, blood stops flowing to the prefrontal cortex and shifts its focus to the amygdala- the area of fight or flight where our focus is sheerly on survival.
We stop forward thinking, logical thinking and critical problem solving- this happens in the natural.
In the spiritual realm, when we become afraid, we pick up destructive tools to stay safe. Tools like powerlessness, control, anger, and hopelessness as a means to self protect.
But 2 Timothy 1:17 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE and SOUNDNESS OF MIND.
What we PARTNER with when we are introduced to fear determines how we move through it.
I believe that the writer of this verse is describing what it should look like when we partner with GOD in our fear so that we are not overtaken by it. When we partner with him and allow our fear to be exposed to him, the fruit of that is walking in power, love and a sound mind.
So… how do we walk in a sound mind in these crazy times? I mean… it’s not like we haven’t been presented with reasons to fear: a global pandemic, a tanked economy, the very real threat of job losses.
The threat is real, but God has not left us with REAL tools to overcome.
One of the things I’ve seen consistently in inner healing and deliverance sessions over the last 2+ years since the pandemic started is God using the pressure of this season to expose lies we’ve been believing about him, his nature and his character.
Now… I want to add a caveat here. God isn’t the author of chaos- man does a fine job of instigating that all on our own. However, the word is clear that God WILL work all things together for the good of those who love him. That means that he can take this situation that we’ve all been walking through and show us how to overcome it.
What does that look like in real time?
Well, what I’ve seen in 1:1 sessions and in group breakthrough times is that the coping skills we once could lean into to cope with stress and dysfunction are no longer adequate to get us through THIS season.
It’s like a dam breaking.
That means that the things that led to fear and anxiety being a chronic, unresolved issue in our lives are getting pushed to the surface so we can deal with them.
This is the collective squeeze we’ve all been in.
And you know what happens when you squeeze something: whatever is inside is going to come out.
We have to address the issues that are getting exposed at the root. This is not a season for managing pain, anger, resentment, fear or anxiety. This is a season of being equipped to take the head off that giant in your life so you can take back your freedom.
So if you’ve found yourself thinking “God, this is literally the worst possible time to deal with this issue. I’m under so much pressure already!” You’re in good company.
There has literally never been a more important time to develop soundness of mind than RIGHT NOW.
The first step is addressing the root of fear in your life- not just the manifestations, but the root of it.
Join us for the Freedom from Fear and Anxiety Workshop!
In this 90-minute workshop we are going to:
Discover how fear gains access to our lives
Learn what role forgiveness plays in our freedom
Uncover the 3 keys to shutting the door on the enemy (and keeping it closed)
Enjoy live group inner healing and breakthrough prayer time
Plus... get access to the Freedom From Fear & Anxiety Workbook ($37 Value) for FREE when you sign up.
To your freedom,
Andrea
