Mindsets That Hurt v HealSample

A MINDSET OF DEFENCE v A MINDSET OF DEPENDENCE

Philippians 4:7 says, "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Many live guarded lives because of the hurts and pains experienced in this broken world. Our instinct when we experience any kind of pain - physical, emotional or psychological, is to put our guards up and to shift into defence. Psychology calls this behaviour a defence mechanism or self-protective strategy. Examples of this type of behaviour can be noted as far back as Genesis 3, where we see how Adam and Eve ran, hid, covered up and blamed when they felt shame due to their choices and when they felt fear as they heard God walking in the garden. Scripture calls this type of behaviour a stronghold - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. The biblical definition of a stronghold is - any behaviour we turn to as a means of holding safety.

Inheriting the knowledge of good and evil lures us to do things in our strength. Living independent lives behind our defences is the ultimate form of control. As much as it does block out the potential of pain, the problem is that it also blocks out the good and ends up causing one to die a slow emotional death.

To live dependant on Jesus, guarded by Him, is to live surrendered, which is a vulnerable, exposing space that most fear stepping into. However, so many promises in scripture encourage us to step into that space. My encouragement is to take this one step at a time.

Psalm 91:3 declares that God is our place of safety, our refuge. 1 Corinthians 13:12 reminds us that God is all-seeing and fully knows everything. Our understanding, however, of life is still limited and blurred. The more we realise the wisdom of trusting in His insight and wisdom, the better for us.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:

• What fear thoughts do you wrestle with regarding letting go and trusting God?
• What area of your life do you live most guarded in?
• How have your defences robbed you of living a fuller life?

PRAY

Jesus, thank You that You are my shelter, my shield, my safe space. Thank You that You are for me and not against me. Thank You that I can lean on You because You care about me. Amen.