Have you ever driven your car with the brakes on? I suppose that most of us who have driven for any length of time have had that experience. I can remember times when I have arrived at my destination and reached down to apply the parking brake, only to find that it had been on the entire time I had been driving. Yet without realizing it I had moved from point to point with my brakes partly set. The horsepower was there, but the car’s vast potential was blocked, bottled up, and restricted.
My Mental brake use to distort my view of God and others. Sometimes it was such a hindrance that it contributed to my sinful behavior. God has compassion for our struggles. He can help us learn to manage our mental curbs and even bring healing. Only if we look as if it’s a spiritual battle which the Bible exhorts us to prepare for and wage diligently. “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12); “Endure hardship . . . like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3); “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11).
Just like signs and signals that regulate traffic, spiritual strength things or signals for obedient that regulate our spirit filled life for truth sometimes are padlocked. But when you stop because of the red light on your “mental dash-board,” what are the real reasons that you hit the brakes? Have you asked, am I stopping for realistic reasons, because I hope to avoid some impending danger, or am I stopping because I do not believe myself capable of reaching my next spiritual objective?” How do you view yourself? Are you driving with your mental secular brakes on? If so, release your brakes and avoid all unnecessary stops. We are saved by faith.
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them”.2 peters 2:19
The strong point here is the ability to know we must hear the gospel and do the good will of God, sharing the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Give yourself an opportunity to detect and oppose wrong, in all of areas of your spiritual life. We must believe—fully trust the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:16). This involves repentance, a changing of mind about sin and Christ (Acts 3:19), and calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:9-10,13). Growth requires change; our resistance to change could actually be a resistance to growth. So, when change occurs, just consider it to be a season of growth. When our human nature protests the change and begs to resist, remember that God has not changed. He is up to something good.
A wise man is strong. A man of knowledge gains in strength. Fools are weak. They do not know what they should do, they do not do it, nor can they understand or resist what they should not do. As a child of Christ, you may say, for every answer there are two responses, a God one and everyone else’s worldly response, sin”. But I chose Christ! “blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” Philippians 2:15.
Another important verse in understanding the filling of the Spirit filled life is John 14:16, where Jesus promised the Spirit would indwell believers and that the indwelling would be permanent. It is important to distinguish the indwelling from the filling of the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Spirit is not for a select few believers, but for all believers. The Holy Spirit is a gift given to all believers in Jesus without exception, and no conditions are placed upon this gift except faith in Christ (John 7 :37-39).
Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. We may be riding around with our spiritual brakes on but believe me God is working in our lives and when we decide to take off those spiritual brakes be reminded by the message in 2 Corinthian 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new is come.” Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.
what are the keys to success in spiritual warfare that facilitates those mental brakes? We rely on God’s power, not our own. We put on the whole armor of God. We draw on the power of Scripture—the Word of God is the Spirit’s sword. We pray in perseverance and holiness, making our appeal to God. We stand firm (Ephesians 6:13-14) we submit to God; we resist the devil’s work (James 4:7) knowing that the Lord of hosts is our protector. “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:2).
Oh, heavenly Father thanks that you work in our lives, that we can be different people because of you. God, we have a need to grow spiritually and to be different. Break in our hard hearts “that just the way that I am, “that we might humbly submit to you, your way, your truth and that your will for us is to reflect the likeness of Jesus Christ.
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