I read a post today that said, “You must train your mind to be stronger than your feelings or you will lose yourself.” 2 Timothy 1:7 was identified as the reference verse.
In this opening section of Paul’s letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, who was a Greek Jewish convert to the faith who had been mentored by Paul. They were very close, tears were shed, joy was given and felt, prayers offered up and Paul reminded Timothy not only of his spiritual pedigree from both his mother and grandmother, but also his own that was instilled by God through the laying on of Paul’s hands. The gift of God which instills a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
[6] For this reasonI remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, [7] for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (ESV)
Fan into flame, the picture is one of a tiny ember being used to start a fire, which must be fed oxygen and fuel to grow, but not too much, or too fast. This fanning into flame of our spiritual life includes training our minds to take ownership over our feelings, but that is only half of the fight.
The other half of this training is the long process of learning submission and surrender. Our minds can be just as corrupted as our feelings. There is no guarantee of thinking correctly. We must preach to ourselves, which means even our minds must be bathed in the waters of the Gospel. (Romans 1:15)
We need a renewed mind. We need our minds transformed because the old self is easily corrupted. That type of training happens on our face. I call it "Surrender Training," and try to do it every morning first thing.
We must, by the power of the Spirit that lives in us, examine our own minds because we can enter into broken thinking in a matter of seconds. I’ve heard it said that we all are only three bad decisions away from a moral catastrophe. I have lived this.
We are called to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ in Second Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (ESV)
“Destroy arguments,” … I believe this calling includes the arguments that arise within our own minds. This begins in a humble recognition of our place in the universe. We are completely dependent on a Holy God. While we are called to stand and fight with the truth of God’s word, occasionally we are called to flee from certain sin because of their power to overwhelm us. In either of these situations, the power to fight or flee is not inherently ours, it has been given to us by our gracious heavenly Father. Yes, we get to use it for our protection, sanctification, and the advancement of the Gospel, but we are using a gift that was received in humility.
Yes, train your body, and your brains, fan into flame the gift of God, and walk by faith in the power of the Spirit, all from a place of surrendered humility.
The enemy can use the good gifts God has given us to erect walls of pride inside secret hidden places. Exposure to the light is the call of God, an act of humbly placing our lives before our King and the "gym" we must train our hearts, minds, and emotions in. every. single. day.
