God at Work in Your Brain

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Maybe I’m slow at catching on, but lately I’ve discovered new insights into the way God works in our minds. The very neural pathways and synapses that fire millions and billions of times in nanoseconds are not only sustained by God, but if we cooperate with Him, He can rewire our brains for good. Old sinful habits can cease, being replaced with ones that glorify God, changing our character in the process. This is one way the Gospel works in us.

Throughout the Bible, we are told that our bodies matter. From the first accounts of man created by God in Genesis to the glorious self-awareness David expresses in Psalm 139 of his own body, to the incarnation of Jesus, our bodies matter to God.  And that includes our brains.

Listen to how David tells God what he feels and thinks of his own body:

Psalm 139:13–18

[13] For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

[14] I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

[15] My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

[16] Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

The reality David expresses about himself holds for you and me; We are “fearfully and wonderfully made!”  In fact, South African author and spiritual formationist, Trevor Hudson, uses the phrase “the unique and unrepeatable you”. That is who you are!

In his book, “The Anatomy of the Soul”, psychiatrist Curt Thompson, MD, unpacks not only how the brain works, but how God is present in the process of transformation. Curt is a Christ-follower who draws parallels between what neuroscience is discovering about the brain and what the Bible already tells us. 

This diagram is an oversimplified picture of the brain, but it explains how it works in daily life. 

Graphic provided by Rebekah Strickbine

The Left Hemisphere is where our logical thinking originates. Scientists, architects, engineers, doctors, chemists, programmers, and others who rely on facts and sequences emphasize their left brain. We need our left brain. If you get a flat tire on the road, your brain goes into problem-solving mode. This is centered in your left brain. Thank God for your left brain.

“But, I’m not much of a left-brain thinker,” you say.  Perhaps that is not your mainstay. You may not have a career listed above, but that does not mean you are left-brain deficient.

The Right Hemisphere is where our creativity resides. Imagination, emotions, intuition, and even our non-verbal expressions thrive in the right brain.  

My old college roommate is a fantastic artist! Randall can paint, sculpt, and create with a host of media. His converted barn studio is a reflection of his creative mind, and it is so good! Randall Bennett Fine Art

Our daughter is a writer. Like Randall, she is using her left brain to articulate what is coming out of her right brain. When we comment “Creativity flows out of her!”, we are complimenting her not only her creative right brain, but how the two parts of her brain work together.

And, that leads us to a very important part of your and my brains; the Corpus Callosum. Sandwiched between the left and right hemispheres, the Corpus Callosum is a white substance with millions of neural pathways that serve two primary purposes: communication and coordination.

The Corpus Callosum (CC for short) keeps the two sides of your brain talking to each other. It keeps you present, drawing your attention to what is going on right now.

You’re driving, hear a noise, and feel the steering wheel tug in one direction. It’s a flat tire. The left brain is telling you to pull over and solve this problem.  Your right brain senses emotions rising, danger to address. These two parts of your brain center in the CC.“Pull over now, and calm down.”

Now, here’s where God shows up (even though He’s been present all along). God is in your past. We read throughout Scripture the importance of remembering the Lord and all He’s done for you. If you are a Christ-follower, you have a history with God. Are you aware of it?

Calling on God as you pull to the shoulder and put on your emergency flashers is exactly what God wants you to do. This is not simply an electrical firing of neurons in your brain. It is also a supernatural interaction between you (both sides of your brain through your God-given CC) and God through the Holy Spirit. 

There have been times during family gatherings when I disengage. It especially happened at Christmas.  You can refer to a Mentoring Warriors post entitled Bah Humbug to get a deeper picture of what was going on. However, from a brain perspective, the reason I was disengaging was my right brain (center of emotions) had developed neural pathways that led to extended grieving over the loss of my mom at Christmas time. When the calendar hit December, social events, especially with family, caused me to behaviour-wise pull over on the side of the highway and disengage. 

Now, here’s where all this brain talk sheds new light on what God was doing to change my way of thinking!

At my wife’s behest, I brought up this malady of mine to a wise Christian counselor. He shed light on another way to view my mom’s passing that focused not on her terminal cancer but on her saving faith in Christ. 

I took his advice and, through prayer (which involves the brain), asked God to help me change my thinking.  Guess what happened?  It changed.  Not overnight, but slowly, I found myself more engaged when family was around. 

If someone could scan my brain, perhaps they’d see some old neural pathways no longer firing (the ones associated with my disengagement) and new ones firing (associated with my engagement). 

Why is this entire discussion on how our brains work so important, and what does it have to do with mentoring?  

ALOT!  Mentoring young guys into a healthy, Christ-focused adulthood is often about the transformation of the mind.  Not merely mental exercises for behaviour management, but a deepening spiritual walk with Jesus that integrates His supernatural work into the very neural pathways of the brain.

This is how guys repent of sinful practices like porn and masturbation, replacing them with qualities like the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

Perhaps it’s time to ask God how you can live in the present, paying attention to the work He wants to do in you.  Get with your mentor and have a discussion.  

If you don’t have a mentor, it’s time to find one. Follow this link to How to Find a Mentor

Warrior On!