“Speak God’s Word over yourself until you’ve changed your own mind.”
Priscilla Shirer
A stronghold in the Old Testament, represented a secured and protected dwelling from the attacks of an enemy. We too build fortresses in our minds when we repeatedly believe Satan’s lies. Each time we say “yes” to a lie, we are saying “no” to God’s truth. And each lie we believe, is like a brick that we add to our stronghold of misbelief, making the fortress walls less penetrable.
Fear of man is one of the main strongholds I’ve struggled with in my life. It manifests itself when I’m hesitant to share my opinions or want to run from confrontation. I become overly compliant to the point I’m not true to myself and I’m disobedient to God. The lies that I’ve believed, such as “I need the approval of man” or “What others think about me and their acceptance of me is important,” are the thought bricks that have added up to build a fortified place in my mind.
II Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Truth found in Scriptures, is what tears the fortress down, brick by brick. Strongholds are demolished by the Word of God.
Each truth we catapult toward our stronghold of lies, begins to chip away at the fortress, putting holes in the walls, making it weaker till it no longer can stand. God’s truth that we hurl at our fortress of lies weakens the stronghold. For me, I catapult the truth, “I have God’s unconditional love and acceptance” and “It’s God’s opinion and approval of me that counts most,” to tear down the fear of man stronghold. Brick by brick the lies I’ve believed are dismantled by God’s truth.
Speaking Scripture out loud or declaring truth aids the demolition process. It solidifies a fortress of belief in the truth, making us stand firm against the enemy and strengthens us to resist temptation. Jesus Himself said, “It is written…” and then quoted the Word of God as His defense against Satan in the wilderness. Faith in God’s truth builds a stronghold of truth in our minds, that withstands the onslaught of the enemy.
“A stronghold is anything that we hold onto that ends up holding onto us.”
Beth Moore
Relevant Reflection:
What stronghold do you struggle with? How can you demolish it with God’s truth?