18 inches.

I'm resourceful.

I'm dirty.

I'm alone.

I'm bright.

I'm worthless.

I'm brilliant.

I'm a waste.

Let's throw it back to the King James Version of the Bible. Bible book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Now run back through that list up there. "I'm dirty. I'm brilliant." Seemingly opposite ends of a spectrum. "I'm dirty." "Oh, wonder what he is referring to here. Probably doesn't want to talk about in mixed company. Go easy on yourself. I'm sure you're not that bad." "I'm brilliant." "Oh, she has such passion and charisma that just oozes out of her. I just love her confidence." Descriptions of ourselves that are more understood and thought rather than always spoken out loud, but none the less still part of how we see ourselves as we healthily and unhealthily assess ourselves along the way. 

But here is where I landed this week. 

I'm resourceful.

I'm dirty.

I'm alone.

I'm bright.

I'm worthless.

I'm brilliant.

I'm a waste.

What if I  perpetuate this list over and over again and I never arrive at these thoughts?

I'm a son or daughter of the King

I'm free.

As a woman thinks in her heart, so is she. So much clutter is playing in my mind each day running the gambit from assessing myself as brilliant to assessing myself as a bloody waste. And if I never arrive at actually thinking about myself as an adopted son or daughter of the King who has been set free for unbounded lavish living with the Trinity and those whom I am given to, then my shallow thinking is the extent of my existence. But there's more:)

Paul tells us to put on the helmet of salvation in the bible book of Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 17. The human heart and brain are about 18 inches away from each other in our body, but the reality is our enemy seeks to keep them divorced away from each other so as to keep us from integrated living in our daily life. The bible book of Proverbs calls the heart (our inner man or inner woman, not thump thump) the wellspring of life. And if the heart is the wellspring of life, then I think the mind is the current that can carry that spring throughout my lived life. That same verse in Proverbs teaches us to guard our heart, the well spring of life.  We're instructed by Paul to put a protective, covering helmet over our mind, our head. Why?  The enemy knows if he can attack the spring (heart) and/or the current (mind), then we are diminished. The enemy always wants us diminished, even to the point of convincing us that whatever he is suggesting is actually our gain. He's a liar. At times, we are suckers.

Guard your heart. Put on the helmet.....what helmet? The helmet of salvation. We must push past mere thoughts of being brilliant or dirty. We must rehearse thoughts of our salvation, liberation and freedom from the heart and hand of God. This is our spiritual DNA. It's our identity. Our identity can't just be that I'm brilliant or I'm dirty. God please let there be more to me than that. Seriously, please. And there is. 

For example. Straight out of the bible book of Ephesians chapter 1. Your spiritual DNA.

Blessed 

Chosen

Made holy

Blameless

Made alive together with Christ

Raised up with Him

Seated in heavenly places

Predestined

Adopted

Redeemed

Forgiven

Bountiful inheritance

Hope based in Christ

Sealed you with His spirit

Riches of His glory

Surpassing greatness of His power

Strength of His might

Honestly, that's a lot different than "I'm brilliant or I'm dirty." 

Sometimes the greatest miracles are not in our circumstances but they are the miracles of battles being won in our mind. The helmet of salvation actually does something. Protects and promotes. Protects the current of Christ thinking and promotes the real realities of who I am in relationship with Him. 

Don't miss that. In. Relationship. With. Him.

There's more.