The Opposite of Brain Damage

And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 1 Kings 10:24

While in treatment, which was the first time in a long time that my brain had been free from drugs, my mind began to work again. As I turned my thoughts towards God, filling it with him instead of the drug, It was like waking up and discovering that I had been asleep without knowing it. I suddenly had intelligent thoughts. Who knew? In my drug use, my mind was continually bent towards the drug and the drug came to make all my decisions for me. In recovery, my brain began to heal and honestly, it was shocking to recognize how handicapped I’d been.

You won’t be surprised by this, but functional brain scans show us how the brain changes and is damaged by drug use. Thankfully though, the opposite is true as well. In abstinence from the drug, the brain can begin to heal. This takes time, but it’s always rewarding to see someone in recovery who is rediscovering their higher thoughts. I can think again!

As we abandon our self-destructive pursuits and turn our thoughts towards God, he transforms our minds. That’s the lesson of today’s passage, which reveals the source of King Solomon’s wisdom. When God asked Solomon what he wanted from God, Solomon didn’t ask according to his own desires. Rather, he asked for wisdom to lead his people well. In abandoning his own way to seek God, Solomon pointed his mind at God, who filled his mind with wisdom.

I don’t know that the Bible explicitly says this, but I think a case can be made to say that, since God created our brains, he made our brains to work best when filled with him. When we pursue our own way, we damage or inhibit our brain. When we turn from our way to seek God and his will, our minds begin to heal.

As I got sober and as I daily read, prayed, and meditated, I found I had a lot of thoughts that I simply didn’t have previously. As I spent more time with God, I just had so many important things to think about. So, I began to write every day in my journal, which is the origin of this blog. In writing this blog, I’m not claiming to be wise. I’m simply claiming to be much wiser with a head full of God than I was with a head full of drugs.