Fighting Strongholds – The Battle For Your Mind
There is a violent battle raging around us twenty-four hours a day.
It is the battle for your mind, and that battle is intense. It is vicious. It is never-ending, and it is unfair because Satan never plays fair. The battle is so intense because your greatest asset and influence is your mind.
Mental health is real just like physical health is real. Whatever gets your mind–gets you. So, one of the most important things we need to guard and learn is to strengthen and renew our minds, because the battle always starts in the mind.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV).
We don’t wage war as the world does–in other words, we don’t fight with tanks, we don’t fight with politics, we don’t fight with money, we don’t fight with guns and bombs. It is a spiritual battle. Our job according to scripture is to demolish strongholds in this battle.
What Is A Stronghold?
A dictionary definition is: “A building or position that is strongly defended.” This would be like a fortress on a hill, with tall walls, guarded by hundreds of soldiers. This is the basic definition of a stronghold.
But in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, a stronghold is referring to a mental block. Paul is talking about arguments set up against the knowledge and truth of God. This is a mental battle. And the Bible says: Destroy these strongholds.
A Biblical definition of a stronghold can be one of two things:
It can be a worldview, such as materialism, hedonism, secularism, communism, atheism. All of the different -isms are mental strongholds that people set up against the knowledge of God.
A stronghold can also be a personal attitude like: Worry. Worry can be a stronghold. Seeking the approval of others can be a stronghold. Anything that is an idol over God can be a stronghold–guilt, fear, insecurity, bitterness. All of these can be a stronghold in your mind. And the Bible instructs us to tear them down.
Take Every Thought Captive
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, we are told to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. The idea is to control or to conquer. We take captive, to bring under control.
But how do you do that? And how do you help other people do that? How do I make my mind, mind? I definitely know that my mind doesn’t always mind. It is often rebellious and disobedient and wants to go its own way. When I need to think and focus, it wants to wander. When I need to pray, my thoughts want to chase squirrels.
We have to fight this battle for our mind.
PRINCIPLES FOR FIGHTING THE BATTLE IN YOUR MIND
Your mind is your greatest asset. The Bible has a lot to say about renewing our minds, strengthening our minds, and bringing our thoughts into captivity. In the next few weeks, I want to give you some simple principles for living like Christ and being effective for Him. In this week’s blog I want to begin by giving you one of these principles:
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
We basically think that if we think something, it must be true because it comes from us. But just because you think something doesn’t make it true. We are bombarded with suggestions from all sorts of places. The world gives us false suggestions and ideas. Satan makes suggestions all the time. But the problem is much deeper than Satan. We all have a battle with sin. We see what we want to see.
Let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 10 and ask two foundational questions. What is your biggest stronghold? The biggest lie? Maybe it’s: My past is too bad for God to forgive me. Or I can’t trust anyone around me. Or I’ll never be close to God. Or all my relationships are always going to fail. Name and identify just one stronghold. This is important because you can’t defeat what you don’t define.
Here’s the second question: What is God’s truth that demolishes that stronghold? The truth matters. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 (NIV). A lie defeats you, and puts your mind in a bad place. What is God’s truth? Let God’s truth be your anchor to defeat the strongholds you face.
It’s time to capture those lies, name them and replace it with God’s truth. And by the power of God, you will be set free!