Life Tips For Supines: Winning Spiritual Mind Battles

►Last of a 6 part series
In the first part of this series, we explained how people’s temperaments (based upon the Arno Profile System) affect how their minds function and how each needs to wage spiritual warfare differently in this area.

This post, and others in the series, are adapted from the NCCA newsletters containing articles in the “Temperament Corner” by Dr. Phyllis Arno.

Below are some typical negative thoughts associated with life circumstances and that the Supines might deal with.

• WORTHLESSNESS: “I have no value; I am worthless; everyone else is better than I.” “I am not important; I don’t even deserve a spot on planet earth!”
• IMPERFECTION: “I can never be perfect. I have so many flaws—people tell me that I do a good job or I look great, but I know better!”
• HURT FEELINGS: “I wish people would stop hurting my feelings; people are so insensitive to my needs.” “I wanted flowers for my birthday, but I never received any.” “I wanted to go to the mall with my friends, but they never asked me!” “Why don’t they know what I want?” “I just want to crawl into a hole and disappear!”
• VENGEANCE: “I’ll get even with them for the way they treat me!” “I will pull away from them. I won’t be there when they need me to do something for them or go somewhere with them.”
• GRIEVING LOSS OF LOVED ONES: “I can’t believe they died and left me all alone.” “That’s not fair!” “What am I going to do? I can’t handle being alone!”
• GUILT: “I am responsible for everything that goes wrong.” “It is always my fault!” “I don’t want to be responsible for making decisions on my own.”

For the Supine, their mind can actually be a place to “slot their thoughts.” This is a time when they can think of what they should have said or what they could have said. They like to file their thoughts away so that they can pull them up when they want. Supines tend to think about the past and revisit it; however, it can cause them joy as well as sadness and emptiness.

If the Supine has too many negative thoughts and they become too much to bear, they may try to escape these thoughts with drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, gambling, etc. Turning to these is really no escape because it then opens them up to more negative thoughts and feelings of sadness, guilt and remorse.

HOW CAN THE SUPINE’S NEGATIVE THINKING BE TURNED TO POSITIVE THOUGHTS?

1. They must begin to see themselves as a child of the Most High, and they will be able to live a victorious life in Christ. They need to learn to say: “I am accepted by God because of Christ, not of my own works.” “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
2. See themselves as a work in progress. They have a difficult time accepting compliments because of their thoughts of imperfection. They feel that others are watching them and that they must be perfect all the time—and yet they feel they can never achieve their own ideals of perfection. They need to learn to say: “I am created by God and He will perfect my imperfections.” “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.” Hebrews 13:20-21
3. Verbalize hurt feelings as anger that needs to be resolved. They tend to expect people to read their minds and know what they want. When people do not read their minds and know what they want, they become angry. They internalize their anger and call this anger hurt feelings because they do not want to offend anyone by saying “I am angry.” This anger begins to build up and can cause them to explode! They need to learn to say: “My feelings are hurt because…” and then submit these hurt feelings/anger to God. He is the great Anger Diffuser! “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:9
4. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. “Love your neighbor”. They tend to think of ways to get even with others for treating them badly; however, they tend to store this vengeance until it boils up and spews out. Sadly, by then, they have lost their gentle spirit. They need to learn to say: “I know that vengeance belongs to the Lord.” By saying this, their gentle spirit will be reflected in all that they do. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19
5. Jesus will never abandon me. They tend to feel rejected, lost and deserted and will tend to dwell on this loss exceeding the normal time of grieving. They need to learn to say: “Jesus will always be here for me.” “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5c
6. There is no condemnation for those in Christ. They tend to have the weight of the world on their shoulders and tend to think that they are responsible when things go wrong. They can actually make themselves physically ill thinking about how they may be responsible for things that go wrong. These thoughts are usually unwarranted and groundless, and they need to learn to say: “My God does not condemn me, He convicts me! And I know the difference.” “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

Here’s a suggested prayers for Supines to help them in this area…

“Father, my delight is in serving You. Please help me to remember that it is You I am serving and it is You I want to please. I submit myself to You so that Your Gentle Spirit will flow through me to reach and touch others.”

Part 1: Know Your Spiritual Temperament And Win More Mind Battles
Part 2: Mind Battles for Melancholies
Part 3: Mind Battles for Sanguines
Part 4: Mind Battles for Cholerics
Part 5: Mind Battles for Phlegmatics