“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [in its inclinations and disposition], because he trusts in You, relies on You, and confidently hopes in You.” Isaiah 26:3

I hope that through these examples, you can clearly see that your intellect and your spirit work together. It is therefore crucial that your intellect remains in a “normal” state; otherwise, it cannot assist your spirit.

Satan, of course, knows this detail, which is why he attacks your intellect on the battlefield of your mind. He wants to overload your intellect by bombarding it with bad thoughts, making it unavailable for the work the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish through your spirit.

Our thoughts must be peaceful. As the prophet Isaiah says, we experience peace when we set our minds on what is good. However, the mind must remain vigilant, which is impossible when it is overwhelmed by a pile of things it shouldn’t be dealing with. Ask yourself: to what extent are your thoughts normal?

Wandering Mind, Indecision

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober…” 1 Peter 1:13

The inability to concentrate reveals a mental attack from the devil. Many people have spent years letting their thoughts wander because they never learned to discipline their intellect. Very often, those who feel they cannot concentrate consider themselves mentally deficient. However, this kind of inability may result from years of allowing one’s thoughts to go wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

A lack of concentration may also stem from a vitamin deficiency. Some B vitamins improve concentration; if you find it hard to focus, you might need to reconsider your diet.

Extreme fatigue can also affect concentration. When I’m very tired, I’ve noticed that Satan works hard to attack my thoughts, knowing that it’s harder to resist during such times. The devil’s goal is to make you and me believe that we are mentally inferior so that we won’t confront the problem.

He wants us to passively accept all his lies. One of our daughters had difficulty concentrating as a child. Reading was a problem for her because concentration and comprehension go hand in hand. Many children, and even adults, have difficulty understanding what they read. Their eyes scan the text, but their intellect fails to grasp the meaning.

Often, a lack of understanding stems from a lack of concentration. Sometimes, I read a chapter from the Bible or any other book, and all of a sudden, I realize that I don’t even know what I just read. I then reread the passage as if for the first time, because even though my eyes scanned the words, my mind was wandering elsewhere, not focused on what I was doing.

The real cause of a lack of understanding often comes from a lack of attention, caused by wandering thoughts…

This text is an excerpt from the book “THE MIND OR SPIRIT ?” written by Joyce Meyer.
We invite you to read the following article, “Indecisive Thoughts and Confusion of the Mind.”

Peaceful Thoughts. Peaceful Thoughts