The third way in which Satan tried to break Christ’s determination to serve His Father was by means of the mind. Having failed to dislodge the Son by appealing to His bodily and ego needs, he then determined to loosen the foundations of His rationality. That occurred in Gethsemane. There Jesus was faced with the full foresight of the cross and all He would have to bear. What He would have to endure. Jesus saw, was a contradiction; He who knew no sin would have to become sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). The pressure of having to become what He hated was an almost intolerable burden for the Son of Man.
He exhibited all the symptoms of the pressure: groaning, tears, sweat, and inward agony. His mind was storm- tossed, swept between two contradictory principles. Three times He had to press in close to the Father in prayer, seeking help, and all the while Satan hoped His mind would snap, leaving Him broken and helpless. But again. Jesus went back to His determination to do His Father’s will, regardless of how contradictory it appeared. “Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42,KJV). Victory came, then peace, when His will held firm before the storm.
Satan knows very well how I can be destroyed through the shaking of my mind. Being called “crazy” was one of the criticisms Paul had to face (Acts 26:24; 2 Corinthians 5:13). The protection of the mind does not come by trying to reason things out, but by being willing to stay oneself on God and letting Him unravel the problems as He chooses. “Thy will be done” (Matthew 26:42) is more than a formal prayer; it is mental therapy that the deceiver cannot undo. If I keep my will intact, God will give me the spirit of “power … love, and… a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV).
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14).
Daily with the King 