How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
–Psalm 1:1
Our thoughts control our actions, and our actions control our destiny. So how do we strengthen our minds to obey God? Let me share some practical principles for strengthening our minds.
Principle number one: avoid ungodly input. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart”—that is, what fills the mind. Your brain is like a supercomputer, storing for future use all the sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences you input into it. That’s why advertisers spend billions of dollars every year—they know that what you store in your mind eventually affects your actions. If you’re serious about obeying God, you won’t fill your mind with things that lessen your resolve to follow Him.
Principle number two: avoid ungodly people. Psalm 1 is a great passage to memorize if you want your life to be characterized by productivity and stability. The psalmist began, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (v.1). Notice the three things that a person blessed by God refuses to do:
- “Walk in the counsel of the wicked.” In Hebrew, the word translated as “wicked” literally means to loosen oneself. A wicked person has loosened himself from God to do whatever he wants to do. If you want to be blessed by God, you won’t allow your value system to be shaped by those who have loosened themselves from God.
- “Stand in the path of sinners.” Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13–14 that there are two paths in this life: a broad path that leads to destruction and a narrow path that leads to eternal life. If you want to be blessed by God, you won’t go in the same direction as the people on the broad path. Your actions should never be confused with those of ungodly people.
- “Sit in the seat of scoffers.” A scoffer is somebody who ridicules the things of God. It doesn’t have to be an unbeliever—there are some Christians who have become so cynical about the church or the things of God that everything is a big joke to them. If you hang around people like that, their cynicism will rub off on you.
The Bible says if you want to remain strong in your faith, you’ll avoid ungodly input and ungodly people.
Principle number three: read God’s Word regularly. Psalm 1:1–2 says, “How blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” One reason Christians fall into sin is they are so spiritually malnourished that they don’t have the strength to say no to temptation. If you’re suffering from spiritual starvation, don’t try to gorge yourself with God’s Word; start small. Read a single psalm or a paragraph from a practical book such as James or Philippians. You’ll discover that the more you read God’s Word, the more you’ll develop a hunger for it.
Principle number four: make regular deposits in your spiritual bank account. Not long ago, I found my first bank book from an account I opened when I was seven years old. All the deposits I made to that account are gone now. I don’t have a clue where that money went. But I’ve made another kind of deposit through the years that continues to pay dividends: depositing God’s Word in my heart. It’s amazing how sections of Scripture I memorized years ago have come to mind at the right time. I encourage you to make Scripture memorization part of your routine as well. And if you’re a parent, teach your children to memorize God’s Word. Psalm 119:9, 11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. . . . Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”
Principle number five: confront wrong thoughts with the truth of God’s Word. You can’t control all the thoughts that come into your mind, but you can control what you do with those thoughts. You can allow them to linger in your mind until they metastasize into sin, or you can confront them with the truth of God’s Word. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul said, “We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” God’s Word is like a spiritual lasso that allows us to capture wrong thoughts, subdue them, and dismiss them.
That’s the reason we read and memorize Scripture. We are in a struggle against evil that is being played out on the battlefield of our minds, and the only way to win is by strengthening our minds with God’s Word.
