Phrase 3: “him whose mind is steadfast.” The Hebrew word for “mind” is yetser. The word sounds like what my siblings and I were expected to say every time our dad, the Army major, told us to do something. The mind is certainly where we decide if we’re going to say “yes, sir” or “no, sir” every time our heavenly Father tells us to do something! Yetser means “frame, pattern, image; conception, imagination, thought; device … it is what is formed in the mind (i.e., plans and purposes).” Look carefully at the word frame in the Hebrew definition of yetser. The implication of the word should be understood more in terms of a picture frame than our physical frame or body. In essence, our minds work to frame every circumstance, temptation, and experience we have. We see events from our own perspective and context.

Have you noticed how two people can look at the same experience so differently? They put the event in different frames and act accordingly. Our reaction depends on how we have framed the event.

Recall a crisis in your home. Perhaps a number of people were affected, but you probably noticed how different the reactions and responses were. You see, each person's mind worked differently to frame the same situation. Often we cause ourselves more pain by the way we frame events than the events themselves cause. Let's pretend we’ve already won the battle over our thought lives. How could you frame that particular situation differently?

The original definition of the word steadfast will help us determine whether or not we’re on the right track. Samak means “to sustain … to be braced … to lean upon.” One part of the definition draws a wonderful word picture to help us visualize the steadfast life in God: “to lay (one's hand on).” When temptations and troubling thoughts come, steadfast believers choose to lay their hands on God's Word and know that it's the truth.

When I first discovered this definition, I thought of a time when I had been hurt by someone close to me. The pain in my heart felt like a searing hot iron. My thoughts were troubled. I knew that the only way to battle the lies of the evil one was to lay a firm hold on truth. I found that during the day, I could read or quote Scripture when my thoughts began to defeat me, but nighttime seemed an altogether different challenge. My worst attacks came at night.

At the risk of being labeled a lunatic (I’ve been called worse), I’ll tell you what I did during the most intense part of the battle. When I got into bed at night, I turned to Scripture that spoke truth to my circumstances. I would literally lay my head on my open Bible until I fell asleep. The Holy Spirit never failed to bring my mind comfort and relief. Had my action not been mixed with faith, it would have served little purpose, but because I believed God would spiritually accomplish what my posture simply symbolized, the enemy was not able to defeat me. — Beth Moore, Breaking Free: Discover the Victory of Total Surrender (Nashville: B&H, 2007).

I have just completed a seven-part Bible Study called Ancient Words. It explores seven key Hebrew words we need to understand in order to really understand the gospel. This article is an excerpt from this Bible study. The Bible Study is available on Amazon. It is also avail as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service.

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