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Earlier this week, we looked at the mind as the Gatekeeper of your soul. We discussed how the mind is the front line of every spiritual battle and why it is critical to guard what thoughts we allow past the gate. If you missed that breakdown on identifying the enemy’s tactics and the 4-step process for taking thoughts captive, [you can read Part 1 here].

Today, we are going one step deeper into the soul. Once a thought passes the gate of the mind, it meets the Will and the Emotions. If the mind is the battlefield, the will is where the victory is actually decided.

Scripture makes it clear that victory in the Christian life is not accidental—it is the result of what we consistently choose to obey. Paul writes about this in the book of Romans:

“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey…” (Romans 6:16)

If the mind is the battlefield—the entry point that filters every thought—the will is the decision center where those thoughts are turned into actions. Your will is simply “what you do with what you think about”.

It’s the bridge between your internal world and your external reality, which you experience as a result of your choices. Scripture describes this “chain reaction” in the book of James:

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14–15)

To help you steward this part of your soul, I want to share a simple framework I wrote about in my book, Choose Prayer Not Despair: Think, Do, Have.

Think: You choose which thoughts to focus on that pass through the gatekeeper of your mind. Scripture tells us this is intentional work: “…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Do: Your will acts on those thoughts, moving you either toward the truth of God’s Word or the lies of the enemy. This is why Scripture doesn’t stop at hearing truth—it calls us to action: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
Have: What you think and do ultimately determines what you experience. Your brain is a pattern-seeking machine, and over time, those patterns shape what you “have” emotionally—whether peace and joy, or sorrow and fear.

As Paul reminds us, the direction of our thinking directly impacts what we experience internally:

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)

Like a muscle, your will can be trained and strengthened through intentional actions that reinforce God’s Word. Jesus framed discipleship as a daily decision of the will:

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Victory is not decided by how you feel in the moment; it’s decided by the consistent choices you make to align with the Truth—even when your emotions are unsettled. The best part is that you aren’t training this muscle alone. Scripture promises:

“…it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

Spiritual maturity grows through this practice and repetition:

“…who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

If the Will is the driver deciding which path your life will take, your Emotions are the dashboard. They aren’t meant to steer the car, but they are designed to tell you how the engine is running. To walk in full freedom, we must learn to stop being driven by our feelings and start using them as a signal system that points us back to the Truth.

Our emotions result from what we think and choose to do. When we align our thoughts with Truth and direct our actions to honor Him, peace, joy, and confidence naturally follow. However, if our thoughts are clouded by fear or doubt, our emotions will reflect that inner emotional heaviness.

The danger comes when we treat our feelings as facts. Scripture warns us:

“The heart is deceitful above all things...” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Your feelings are real, but they aren’t always rooted in truth. They are signals meant to reveal where your mind and will are currently focused. Negative emotions like anxiety or shame are often an invitation to stop, pray, and ask the Lord: “What am I agreeing with right now?”.

When we submit our soul—our mind, will, and emotions—to the Spirit, we begin to “have” different results. Instead of being controlled by the “flesh,” our internal dashboard begins to reflect the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Even emotions like sadness or disappointment are valuable; they are invitations to rely on God’s strength rather than our own.

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17-18)

To move from being controlled by your emotions to stewarding them, try this three-step exercise whenever you feel your peace slipping away:

Stop: Recognize the emotion you are currently feeling without judging it. Is it anxiety? Anger? Loneliness?.
Trace: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you trace that feeling back to a specific thought or choice. Ask: “What thought led to this feeling?”.
Choose: Use your will to align with a specific Truth from Scripture. Don’t wait until you “feel” like it; make the godly choice to obey the Word regardless of the emotional heaviness.

Take a moment right now to pause and reflect on the state of your soul. Your will and emotions are designed to work together to keep you in God’s peace—but they require an honest check-in. Choose just one of the questions below to answer in your heart right now:

What is my “Internal Dashboard” telling me right now? Am I experiencing the Fruit of the Spirit, or is there a signal of anxiety or fear flashing red?
What have I been “Think-ing” and “Do-ing” to produce this result? Can I trace my current feelings back to a specific thought I let past the gate or a choice I made today?
Am I treating my feelings as facts or signals? Have I allowed a temporary emotion to steer the car, or am I using it as an invitation to rely on God’s strength?
Is my Will submitted to the Spirit today? Am I choosing to align with the Truth of God’s Word regardless of how I feel in this moment?

The Soul (Part 2): Where Victory Is Decided

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