Temptations of the Mind

“Such men are not true apostles but are workers who lie.  They change themselves to look like apostles of Christ.   This does not surprise us.  Even Satan changes himself to look like an angel of light”.    II Cor. 11:13-14 NCV

The third way in which Satan tried to break Jesus’ determination to serve His Father was by means of the mind.

Having failed to dislodge Jesus by appealing to His body and ego, he then attempted to loosen the foundations of His rationality.   That occurred in Gethsemane.

There Jesus was faced with the full foresight of the cross and all He would have to bear.   What He would have to endure, Jesus saw, was a contradiction; He who knew no sin would have to become sin (II Cor. 5:21).

The pressure of having to become what He hated was an almost intolerable burden for the Son of Man.

He exhibited all the symptoms of the pressure; groaning, tears, sweat and inward agony.  His mind was storm-tossed, swept between two contradictory principles.

Three times He had to press in close to the Father in prayer, seeking help and all the while Satan hoped His mind would snap, leaving Him broken and helpless.

But again, Jesus went back to His determination to do His Father’s will, regardless of how contradictory it appeared.

“Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42 KJV).

Victory came, then peace, when His will held firm before the storm.

Satan knows very well how we can be destroyed through the shaking of our mind.

Being called “crazy” was one of the criticisms Paul had to face (Acts 26:24, II Cor. 5:13).   The protection of the mind does not come by trying to reason things out, but by being willing and determined to stay on course with God and letting Him unravel the problems we face as He chooses.

“Thy will be done” (Matt. 26:42) is more than a formal prayer; it is mental therapy that Satan cannot undo.

If we keep our will intact, God will give us the spirit of “power….love, and ….a sound mind” (II Tim. 1:7).

“God’s Word is living and powerful.  It is sharper than a sword that cuts both ways. It cuts straight into where the soul and spirit meet and it divides them.  It cuts into the joints and bones.  It tells what the heart is thinking about and what it wants to do”.    Hebrews 4:12 NLV