STRONGHOLD

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down STRONGHOLDS – 2 Corinthians 10:4

On this prophetic Adventure into Victory, we’ll meditate on the STRONGHOLDS of the Mind. A Stronghold is a fortified place or a place of refuge against attack such as a castle, fortress or fortified walled city. A stronghold is therefore not necessarily negative. It becomes evil when it imprisons and one cannot break free even when there are no more dangers around. Negative strongholds are thoughts, imaginations, and ideas that trap the soul. They are limiting barriers or boundaries, from which much efforts and stronger power are required to break loose and enjoy liberty once again. Satan tries to establish lies in the thinking of a person or group of people. What we think on is what we believe and, in time, what we become: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Pro.23:7). Our minds control our lives and dictate our beliefs, behaviour, and actions.

Stronghold is a military image that describes the castles of carnality and fortresses of falsehood that Satan tries to entrench in our minds. Our Lord however equips and empowers us to besiege and tear down strongholds and liberate souls into obedience. They include every system of thoughts that exalt itself against the knowledge of God and every anti-Christian ideology, which Satan and fallen men have invented in the pride of their heart to oppose the Truth. It is like the snake in the garden that questioned Adam and Eve: “Did God really say that?” (Gen.3:1). Strongholds develop from thought patterns that have been acquired consciously or unconsciously over time. Being incongruous with God’s word, they develop into negative words, actions, character, and habits, and ultimately strongholds. It is vital to break loose from such and destroy them!

The enemy knows how strategic our minds are. That is why he tries to: build strongholds of depression, fear, lust, and poverty; fill our minds with vain imaginations and deceptive impressions; move us to question God’s words through doubt and carnal reasoning (arguments, philosophies, human theories, religious tradition, false teachings); inject negative thoughts into our minds by planting seeds of anxiety, doubt, failure, and worry; corrupt our minds by sowing lies about God, ourselves, our family, our circumstances, the church, and other people. One negative thought can open the door for sin, sickness, and poverty to attack. Breaking free from strongholds requires certain deliberate and decisive steps and actions, namely:

Identify the strongholds: the weak areas where you are easily tempted to go astray, such as anger, bitterness, fear, lies, unbelief, worry, poor self-perception; or vices such as alcoholism, smoking, promiscuity or pornography. By the help of the Holy Spirit, dig around to find the source or root of the stronghold: What is feeding it? What is making it hold so strongly to you? Until you find the root, you cannot stop the reproduction of the fruit. Locate the root not the branches (Mt. 3:10).

Acknowledge the stronghold: accept that you have it and is holding strong to you or you holding strong to it. You cannot break away from habits you have not convinced yourself that you have. Acknowledging it sets you on the way to freedom.

Destroy the strongholds by: (a) applying the weapons of your warfare – the Name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and the Word of God through aggressive prayer – to take rebellious thoughts captive (2Cor.10:4-5; Eph.6:16-18); and (b) renewing your mind by meditation (Rom.12:2). Meditate on the Word of God to root out wrong thoughts and renew your mind.

Jehovah commanded Israel thus: “You shall utterly DESTROY all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars, BREAK their sacred pillars, and BURN their wooden images with fire; you shall CUT DOWN the carved images of their gods and DESTROY their names from that place” (Dt.12:2-3). It is high time you took charge of your life. Dig around the issues robbing you of liberty, progress and the Victorious Life in Christ. Wake up and take charge of your life.