10 Ways To Get A Sound Mind

(God’s Plan For Gaining Victory over Depression, Anxiety, Fear, Discontentment, and Anger)

1.      Walk in the Spirit, not the flesh.

The Bible puts human behavior into two categories: The fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of the flesh:

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Gal 5:14-26)

The Bible doesn’t mention fruit of hormonal or chemical imbalances. You’re either walking in the flesh, or you’re walking in the Spirit. It’s true, that there are physical things that make it more difficult to walk in the Spirit, and easier to walk in the flesh. For example, if I don’t eat or sleep, it will be twice as hard for me to control my temper. However, this is no excuse for me to walk in the flesh. I am still responsible for my behavior, and responsible to walk in the Spirit, rather than the flesh. The first step in a spiritual solution is to take responsibility for your actions, and to walk in the Spirit.

If you can also get the sleep you need and eat properly, or take care of the physical needs that make it more difficult to walk in the Spirit, then do it. But don’t blame your behavior on your chemical imbalances. If you will only admit to having chemical imbalances, then the only cure you’re going to get is chemical changes through drugs. Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake and for his frequent infirmities, so it’s ok to take these things to help manage chemical or physical problems, and to help with behavioral problems. However, if you want to get down to the root cause, and have a lasting cure, then you must also walk in the Spirit, not the flesh.

This, of course, assumes you are a Christian, who has the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then you do not have the power to obey or please God:

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Rom 8:7-9)

Bible teaching and the ways of godliness seem foolish to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 2). They do not have the Spirit of God to comprehend spiritual truths.

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1Co 2:14-16)

But those who believe Christ’s death satisfied God’s righteous demands against their sin, and that God raised Him from the dead, have the Spirit and the power of God within them. They have God’s power to live a life of victory with a sound mind.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

(2Ti 1:7)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Rom 1:16)

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:1-23)

2. Love your neighbor

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal 5:14-16)

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 Jn 3:10-24)

Cain failed to love his brother, and murdered him. Then he became paranoid that everywhere he went, people would try to kill him:

Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. (Gen 4:13-15)

John said that if you hate your brother, you are like Cain, the murderer. If you harbor hatred, you will lose your peace of mind, doubt you are a Christian, and lack inner peace. If you love your brother, you will have no occasion to stumble, and will have assurance and peace of mind, that you are a child of God.

3.      Believe God is with you

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Heb 13:5-6)

There are two problems that occur when we doubt that God is with us: lack of contentment and the fear of man. When we believe God is with us, it will help keep us content with what we already have, and free from the love of money. Believing God is with you, will also help keep you free from the fear of man. This goes a long way in promoting peace of mind for believers.

  

4. Choose Jesus Instead of money and anxiety

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. (Luk 16:13-14)

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed--or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luk 10:38-42)

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. (1Jn 5:21)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6-7)

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world. (1Jn 2:15-16)

If you love and serve God, rather than the world, idols and money, and if you make your requests known to God, you will have peace of mind, instead of anxiety.

5.      Pray for what you need

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6-7)

If you have anxiety about some need, then commit it to God in prayer. When we trust God to meet our needs, we will have the peace of God to guard our hearts and our minds.

6.      Think about good things

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. (Php 4:8)

If you allow negative thoughts to control your mind, it will destroy your peace of mind. Think about things that are excellent and praiseworthy, and you will promote peace of mind. The word of God is the best source for excellent and praiseworthy things.

7. Follow godly examples

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Php 4:9)

James says not to be a hearer only, and deceive yourself, but to put your faith into practice (James 2). The Bible is filled with examples of how godly Christians behaved, including Paul. Following these godly examples, by putting Bible teaching into practice, will result in the God of peace being with you.

8. Put your hope in God

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psa 42:5)

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (1Th 5:8)

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 

(1Co 15:19-21)

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1Co 15:55-58)

If you hope in God, you will not stay depressed. If you believe His promises, you will have hope for your future. This hope will motivate you to always abound in the work of the Lord, and will get you up out of bed, and off the couch.

  

9. Forgive as God has forgiven you

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Eph 4:26-27)

Ephesians 4 says to be angry (have a righteous hatred of sin), but sin not, and not to let the sun go down on your "wrath" (exasperated attitude), so that the devil will not get a foothold in your life. It's ok to have a temporary, righteous indignation towards sin. But if we harbor long, deep-seated, simmering grudges against people, that gives Satan a foothold in our life. 

The cure for this is in the verses which follow, which say to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph 4:31-32)

That's like the parable Jesus told about the two debtors. The Master forgave one person a huge debt (our infinite debt to God for our sin). Then the person who was forgiven, grabbed someone by the throat, and demanded full payment, over a comparatively smaller offense (other's offenses against us):

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart." (Mat 18:21-35)

If you believe Christ's death satisfied God's righteous demands against your infinite sins toward God, then that should give you faith that the righteous demands against other people's sins against you, have also been met by Christ. If you deny Christ's death satisfies God's righteous demands against sins others commit, then what basis do you have to believe Christ's death satisfied God's righteous demands against your own sin?

Then, there is also the matter of due process:

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (Mat 18:15-17)

Matthew 18 prescribes a process for dealing with a brother who offends you. The first requirement in that process, is that it assumes the person has "sinned". If your brother "SINS" against you, then you go to him alone, and discuss the problem. Not liking or agreeing with what someone does or says, does not necessarily constitute SIN on their part. The first thing you have to do, is to be able to show the person, from the Bible, that what they have done is actually SIN, and not just something you disagree with. If you can't show someone they have actually sinned in what they did, then there is really no basis for further corrective action. This is especially the case, when the person has a Biblical conviction for what they're doing, and believe it's what God requires of them, and can demonstrate this from the Bible. I have to follow what I believe God tells me to do, whether that offends people, or not. If they can show from the Bible that the thing which offends them is actually SIN, and not what God wants, then the steps of correction can follow. 

10. Submit to authority

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. (Rom 13:1-5)

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." For "you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.  (1Pe 2:11 - 3:2)

Some suffering comes because we are trying to live a godly life. Other suffering comes because we fail to submit to God’s authority. God wants us to avoid the unnecessary suffering that comes from disobedience, by submitting to the authority He has ordained in our lives. Of course, when the authority told Peter to stop preaching the gospel, then he had to obey God, rather than men (Acts 5:29). If one of God’s ordained authorities is not requiring you to disobey God, then God wants you to obey them. This will help prevent the unnecessary suffering that can trouble our minds.

There is a spiritual solution to depression, anxiety, fear, discontentment, anger, etc. God’s children have the Holy Spirit to empower them with a sound mind. A spiritual solution requires a person to admit a spiritual problem, and follow the spiritual course of action above.

Also, it doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario. God allows medication (Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach's sake and often infirmities). If there are actually physical, hormonal problems involved, you can take the medication to help with the symptoms, as long as you're also pursuing a spiritual solution.