Mind Over Body

Heb. 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.


My Dad had amazing talent. Aside from being able to repair anything under the sun and whistle louder and higher than anyone on earth, he also was not ticklish! He and I would wrestle (translation: he would tickle me mercilessly and I loved it!). I would try to tickle him back, but never got a reaction. His feet weren't ticklish. His side wasn't ticklish. Nothing. "How do you do it, Dad?" I'd ask him. "It's mind over body." He'd tell me. This made no sense to a 5 year old! Now I realize that he was able to think about something else and control his reaction to the tickling.

I never did master the talent of "mind over body" when it came to being tickled. I'm still very ticklish! But, I'm learning to apply that principle in another area. The verse today says that we must "consider Christ" if we are "wearied and faint in our minds." It really is all about the mind, isn't it? Those who accomplish great things in the world often faced criticism and failure. Some past examples? How about Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, or Helen Keller? Just about any person of renown faced tragedy, heartache and ridicule before they achieved success. How did they keep going, till they arrived at "prominence"? They believed in themselves and their ideas. Sometimes, they were the only ones who had faith in what they were doing!

As Christians, our hope for the future doesn't necessarily rest in our own talents or ideas (even though God is the giver of talent and ideas to mankind). It rests in our ideas about Christ. Do you believe Him? Do you claim His promises as your guiding principle? Many read God's Word, fewer actually live it.When I get discouraged and want to quit serving God, the Holy Spirit reminds me of what Christ suffered for me. He didn't give up. He didn't say, "Hmmm, dying on a cross isn't fun, so I'm quitting." No, His love for my soul and yours drove Him forward.

I needed this verse today. I'm a natural born quitter! But that's not the way I should be. Our verse says to remember Christ when I want to give up. I must dig into Scripture and claim a promise!

Let's keep our mind on Christ. In the end, we can claim success!