RECLAIM
I’m reclaiming my mind
I’m rejecting fear
I’m standing in Christ
I am a vessel for Him
I’m reclaiming my life
I’m reclaiming my skills
I’m rejecting the doubts
I am a vessel for Him
I won’t be held back
I will not be forbidden
From spreading his word
And using my gifts
I won’t live a passive life
In fear of laughs and jeers
I will believe your report
I will be a vessel to be used by you
So……let’s discuss……shall we?
Scriptures referenced:
Isaiah 53
Links: -
https://tinyurl.com/y2b55o8y - Creative Tribe
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8p9b98Uw_EcNXcAzog6b_P6DLNHTUGt – Reclaim Playlist (A Romans 8 Production YouTube channel)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-55562107 - BBC News - The cartoonists making mental health their muse
Hey Product Fam, Vessel here, let’s talk about God and our mental health.
They say “fear not” or some version of it appears in the Bible 365 times, one for every day of the year. It is by far the most repeated phrase/concept. Fear or some version of it is also one of the enemy’s favourite and most effective mental attacks and that’s what this piece is about. You might think this was written during the same time as the previous piece “OBEDIENCE” or even written for the same reason…you’d be wrong. This piece was actually written looonnnggg before that one, but it does have a lot of similar themes, just with a different angle of sorts. This one addresses the mental attacks head on, the fear, the anxiety, the self-doubt, low self-esteem ALL OF IT.
I wrote this little declaration at a time when I felt my mind was completely out of control. I felt absolutely bombarded by anxious, depressing, and overall fear laden thoughts. Worry was a constant feature, overthinking had me worrying and fearful over hypothetical situations that had not happened and would probably never happen. I wasn’t necessarily depressed but my mind would not let me rest; peace, honestly escaped me, and I couldn’t catch a single break. Then one day I got so angry, I realized it was the work of the enemy trying to bog me down and it had been working!! So, I put my armour on and I called out to Jesus and I wrote this little declaration (which I also sang to myself and still sometimes do) in my frustrated, fed up and frankly exhausted self. I kid you not, this whole ordeal that I had been struggling with for days if not weeks WENT that day and now every time the devil tries this I am reminded of this little poem and I fight for my mental health. I have reclaimed this mind of mine and the devil has no more space to work here, although he does still try it….and fail.
Nationally and worldwide mental health and mental health conversations have become prevalent, in many cases “trendy”, but mental health is KEY and should never be reduced to a trend. Christendom needs to pay attention to mental health because the mind is the FIRST battle ground and we cannot afford to give the enemy any room, we cannot afford to surrender any ground up there. God is serious about this, THAT is why “fear not” is alllll over scripture; God is not overlooking anything, but we often discount this field of battle. 2 Timothy 1:7 and Philippians 4:6-7 are such frequently quoted scriptures, that we may have become desensitized to the importance of owning and walking fully in the “sound mind” God has granted us, leaving them unguarded. We accept all kinds of thoughts and mental attacks without understanding how ineffective we can become when our minds are not right, but I assure you, the devil is VERY aware and using our lack of awareness to pick us off one by one. Lack of Knowledge = Perish!!!
From: BBC News - The cartoonists making mental health their muse
(link above)
Fear, anxiety, and worry have kept me and so many others shackled, trapped for so long when Luke 12:29 clearly instructs us not to be so concerned for ourselves. Why? Because we serve the God who will and is fully capable of taking care of it. So why don’t we want to talk about it? Why don’t we want to make sure our brothers and sisters are not being weighed down by fear that scriptures so often implores us to fight? Why is it that so often conversations on spiritual warfare surround everything EXCEPT mental health? Is it that we hold the same prejudices and “hush hush” attitudes to mental struggles and battles? If so, at what point do we realize that these attitudes are completely contrary to how God wants us to treat with each other’s struggles (see James 5)?
Brothers and sisters let us not allow these wiles of the enemy to keep us bound. If I know one thing about Christ, I know there is deliverance in Christ. He did not come and die on that cross for our sins so you could remain the same. I know we are not the under-dogs and our armour is not weak; I know we have every weapon we need to fight these battles and WIN. Will you fight? Will you reclaim your mind? Maybe your battle is something else, will you take up arms against the enemy for your born-again birthright? Until next time, be encouraged Product fam, RECLAIM that which the enemy has stolen.