Winning the War in Your Mind Workbook

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Craig Groeschel

• Publisher: HarperChristian Resources
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780310136835
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

In this twelve-lesson workbook, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel pairs modern psychology and biblical teaching to reveal how to win the war in your mind and restore daily peace in your life.

What you think shapes who you are.

If your thoughts are out of control, your life will be as well. Both the Bible and modern science provide evidence that this is true.

In recent years, a discipline of psychology called cognitive behavioral therapy has gained popularity. This discipline is rooted in an understanding that many problems--from eating disorders to relational challenges, addictions, and even some forms of depression--are rooted in negative patterns of thinking. Treating those problems begins with changing that thinking.

This has many parallels with Scripture. In Paul's letter to the Philippians, he writes about turning our thoughts to certain types of things (truth, purity, loveliness...) and putting them into practice so that we experience God's peace.

In this workbook, Craig goes deeper into the principles outlined in his book (sold separately) to reveal the strategies he has discovered that will change your mind and, by extension, your life for the long-term. Each lesson includes biblical exploration, reflection and application questions, and practical exercises to help you:

• Gain insight into how your brain works and how your thoughts affect your reality.
• Identify your destructive thought patterns and eliminate them from your life.
• Become a thought warrior and replace the enemy's lies with God's truth.

God has something better for your life than your old ways of thinking. It's time to change your mind so God can change your life.

PART 1

THE REPLACEMENT PRINCIPLE
REMOVE THE LIES, REPLACE WITH TRUTH

When you understand the battle taking place in your mind, you realize that you’re not who you think you are. In fact, your thoughts may be based on false beliefs and inaccurate assumptions, which then prevent you from living in the truth of who God says you are. When you explore how to identify and remove the lies, you can then focus on the truth of God’s Word.

As you practice the Replacement Principle, you will:

• Realize how your perception shapes your reality and therefore the decisions you make and actions you take.

• Perform a thought audit to help you quickly evaluate the different kinds of thoughts occupying your mind and fueling your emotions.

• Become a thought warrior who can push back against thoughts that are untrue, outdated, and destructive.

• Identify the lies you believe and see the harmful impact they have on how you see God, yourself, your life, and your relationships with others.

• Release old lies and redirect your focus to the new truth of God’s Word.

• Declare truth in all areas of your thinking as you trust God and live according to his promises.

LESSON ONE

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

You cannot change what you do not confront.

If you ignore the battle, you lose the battle.

CRAIG GROESCHEL

Every day you are engaged in a battle. You may not recognize the battle, but it is wreaking havoc in your life. Ever wonder why you can’t shake a habit? Why you feel you can’t connect with God? Why you lose your temper so easily? Why you continually make bad decisions? Why your kids or friends appear to have a cloud of darkness over them when you’re around? Why you and your spouse fight so much? Why you’re consumed with worry, fear, and negativity?

There is a reason why. Your mind is a warzone, and it’s critical that you recognize the battle is raging. If you ignore what’s going on in your thought life, then your unhealthy thoughts will continue to erode your quality of life, your relationships, your faith. Because the assault will not stop unless you engage.

The apostle Paul made it clear, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). You are in a battle, and your adversary is not your boss, spouse, kid, or neighbor with the annoying dog that’s always barking. The one you are fighting against is your spiritual enemy—the devil.

Satan is your unseen enemy whose mission is to destroy you (see John 10:10), stop you (see 1 Thessalonians 2:18), and devour you (see 1 Peter 5:8). Satan despises you with more hatred than you can imagine. He wants to keep you from intimate relationships with those you love most. He wants to rob you of deep joy, inner contentment, and abiding peace. The devil wants to strip you from the fulfilment of knowing that what you do makes a difference.

He accomplishes this by convincing you of his lies. He is a deceiver, and his strategy to defeat you is to persuade you to believe lies. We are warned, “there is no truth in him . . . when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). If he can get you to accept his false notions and dangerous deceits, then his lies manipulate your perception of reality. You accept the way you see things—based on your enemy’s subterfuge—and live your life based on untrue beliefs.

Winning the war in your mind requires you to study how you see things and why you see them that way, identify the lies of the enemy, and rely instead on the truth of God.

EXPLORING GOD’S WORD

Perhaps no one in the Bible understood how one’s view of reality can be shaped by perceptions better than the apostle Paul. After all, he started life as a devout Jew, zealously committed to maintaining the letter of religious law and persecuting those who were following the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Known then as Saul, he experienced a supernatural encounter with the Lord while traveling to Damascus in the hopes of catching some believers there. As you read through the following account, underline or circle any words, details, or images that relate to how Paul’s perception of Jesus and understanding of faith changed.

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

— ACTS 9:1–19

• What did Saul believe that caused him to go around “breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1)? What was the basis for these beliefs?

[Your Response Here]

• Considering how deeply embedded Saul’s thoughts about Jesus must have been, why did this encounter change his thinking? Based solely on a rational, logical extension of Saul’s false beliefs, what other kind of response might he have had to this situation?

[Your Response Here]

• How did the truth of Saul’s own encounter with Christ force him to reconsider his perception of reality? Why?

[Your Response Here]

• Saul’s transformational encounter is also striking because of the faith of Ananias. Logically, based on the reports he had heard about Saul’s relentless quest to arrest and kill followers of Jesus, Ananias was understandably wary. What changed Ananias’ mind about the task God asked him to perform? What did Ananias’ experience have in common with Saul’s?

[Your Response Here]

• This incident reminds us of how vision often serves as a metaphor for seeing clearly beyond concrete perceptions. How did Saul’s blindness force him to reconsider what he used to believe? What did he learn about his ability to see clearly after he welcomed the Holy Spirit into his life?

[Your Response Here]

• How did Saul’s way of thinking change after he surrendered to Christ and was filled with God’s Spirit? Why did his previous beliefs no longer hold the same power over him?

[Your Response Here]

REFLECTING ON THE TRUTH

After this dramatic encounter, Saul went on to fulfill the prophecy that God related to Ananias: “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 19:15). He adopted his Roman name Paul as he began to travel further into the Gentile world. He spent the rest of his days traveling, preaching, and evangelizing despite experiencing the same kind of persecution he once enforced. He also endured trials and hardships—including arrests, beatings, shipwrecks, snakebites, jail time, and earthquakes—that never shook his faith but only ...