One of the biggest battles we face as believers, takes place in our minds. We might be fighting thoughts of taking drugs or another drink of alcohol. Or we could be battling images  that are pornographic, or dealing with a ‘Big Mac’ attack.

Our culture doesn’t help either. Billboards, television, the internet, magazines, these all provide an unending supply of images and suggestions we don’t need to dwell on.

Throughout the day, these thoughts  seem to follow us.  Whether we’re at a stop light or laying in bed at night, they stick with us. When we try to get free of these thoughts, we just can’t get them  out of our minds, no matter  how hard we try. Finally, we give in to these thoughts because we don’t see any way to overcome them.

This is not a new problem. The Jews faced the same problem 2600 years ago during the time of Jeremiah the prophet.  After Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonians were going to attack and conquer Jerusalem, they lost hope. The hopelessness they experienced allowed their imaginations to drift into thoughts they shouldn’t have. They were living the old saying, “An empty mind is the devil’s playground.” Here’s what Jeremiah recorded of the Jews condition.

And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

Jeremiah 18:12 KJV

These Jews had given up. Hopelessness had overtaken their minds and wrong thoughts filled the void. God’s solution to the Jews hopelessness was to replace their evil imaginations with hope-filled thoughts. Jeremiah shows how God offered hope to these Jews a few chapters later in his book.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

God proclaimed to the Jews that he would give them “a hope and a future.” He was offering them something upon which they could set their dreams. The dream he gave them came as a promise to return them to their homeland. This hope was opposite of their hopeless circumstances.

We all face our own hopeless situations. Ours might be a sickness, a tough financial situation, or marriage problems. And, just like the Jews, during these times we let our minds drift in the wrong direction.

But just as God provided the Jews hope to counter their hopelessness, he’ll do the same for us. The hope God offers will fill our imaginations. He will give us dreams and a vision for life that’s opposite of our current situation.

God’s hope displaces wrong thoughts.

I saw this at work in a man who struggled with being overweight for years. One night, God gave him a dream of being the proper weight. The dream was so vivid that it woke him and he had to reach down and touch his belly to see if he was still fat. Of course he was, but a few months later he wasn’t. The vision God gave him became a goal that he’d pursue to lose weight. 

Your Hope Helmet