In the Old
Testament, a stronghold was a fortified dwelling used as a means of protection
from an enemy. We find that David hid from King Saul in wilderness strongholds
at Horesh in 1 Samuel 23. These were physical structures usually caves high on
a mountainside, and were very difficult to assault. It was this imagery in mind
that the inspired writers of the Bible adapted the word "stronghold"
to define powerful, vigorously protected spiritual realities.
A stronghold
can be a source of protection for us from the devil, as is the case when the
Lord becomes our stronghold as He did for David. Or conversely, a stronghold can be a source
of defense for the devil's influence in our lives, where demonic or sinful
activity is actually defended within our sympathetic thoughts toward evil.
The Apostle
Paul defines strongholds as speculations or lofty things that are raised up
against the knowledge of God. It is any
type of thinking that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, thereby giving
the devil a secure place of influence in an individual's thought-life.
Another definition defines a
stronghold as a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept
something that we know is contrary to the will of God.
Many
strongholds are a result of an accumulation of un-crucified thoughts and
unsanctified attitudes that have ruled our lives during our formative
years. As children growing up in a world
that is under the influence and the sway of the enemy we received a steady
stream of information and experiences that continually shaped our childhood
perceptions. This is why the Bible says
our minds need to be renewed once we are born again of God's Spirit.
Our sense of
identity and view of life is formed by the amount of love or lack of love in
our home, our cultural environment, peer values and pressures, as well as fears
of rejection and exposure--even our physical appearance and intelligence. Many
of our opinions about life are ours only because we know of no other way to
think. Yet we protect and defend our
ideas, justify our opinions as though they were born in the wombs of our own
creativity.
In other
words, the essence of who we are is an accumulation of our thought life. For
example, many of our thoughts and opinions were shaped by our parents and
school teachers. As good of people as
they may have been, if their opinions were not God's than they were wrong. We have a
mindset that has been shaped by our parents and educators as well as the
ungodly environment in which we live. As
Christians, the only truth suitable for eternity is the truth of Christ. If we fail to realize this we will be like
our teacher, never doing more than the deeds of our fathers. When we come to Christ, all that we are in
nature and character is destined to change.
Just because
we are Christians does not exempt us from having strongholds that must be dealt
with. There are still many strongholds
within us.
Because we
all have a tendency to excuse ourselves so readily, it is difficult to discern
the areas of oppression in our lives.
After all, these are our thoughts, our attitudes, our perceptions and we
justify and defend our thoughts with the same degree of intensity with which we
justify and defend ourselves. As a man
thinks so is he. Therefore, before any
deliverance can truly be accomplished, we must honestly recognize and confess
our need.
When
identifying your strongholds, examine the attitudes in your heart.
Every area in your thinking that glistens with hope in God is an area which is
being liberated by Christ. Any system of
thinking that does not have hope, which feels hopelessness, is a stronghold,
which must be pulled down.
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