2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Ultimately, we must recognize we are in a war and are soldiers. If we are in a war, we can win the battle, sometimes, through our reactions, but if we only live through our reactions, we are merely surviving the war and not winning.
This scripture says we are waging war, implying we are on the offense, not the defense. Spiritual warfare is not only what happens to us and how we respond. If we are waging war, we understand that our weapons are not of the flesh but empowered by the Holy Spirit to destroy strongholds.
The weapons that we have are to destroy strongholds.
Therefore, the war we are waging against is to destroy the strongholds in our life.
Learn more about destroying strongholds inside my coaching program, Spiritual Growth Framework.
One stronghold is a fort, fortress, castle, or secure place (a physical place) to be safe against the enemy’s attacks. We see this in 1 Samuel 23:14, “David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day, Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.”
Another example of a stronghold in the Bible is when God himself is referred to as our stronghold. Since strongholds can be places of refuge and safety from danger, God is certainly our stronghold (spiritual) since He is the One who keeps us safe and rescues us from our enemies.
We see this in Psalm 18:2, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
The last stronghold (emotional) in the Bible refers to negative patterns of thinking, prideful thoughts, or worldly messages that have written negative messages on the minds and hearts of believers.
These strongholds come from thought patterns, assumptions, beliefs, and opinions that are elevated against God’s knowledge (intimate awareness – character and activity of God) that gives access to the enemy.
We are called to destroy strongholds.
Not compare them. Not ignore them. Not pretending they don’t exist. We are to destroy what comes against the Truth, take our thoughts, and make them obedient to Christ.
We know that nothing we go through will ever compare to what Jesus did for us. It is a beautiful reminder and perspective but doesn’t destroy strongholds; it merely compares them.
Anything that gives the enemy easy access to our minds or is above the word of God in your life is a stronghold.
To take a thought captive means that any thought that is not in alignment with Truth, we are to take it captive as a prisoner of war. Because if we can stop this one thought, then we can stop the havoc that would happen in our life. Those thoughts are terrorists in our brains.
We destroy and build one thought at a time.
Our thoughts come from many different places.
Our thoughts come from our spirit, God, our flesh, or the enemy. And many of those thoughts sound a lot like our own voice.
Therefore, the thoughts we repeat the most become beliefs which form our actions, and our actions create habits that form our character.
Our brains are lazy because it doesn’t want to think too hard, which is why it can feel hard to destroy strongholds.
The longer we believe a lie, the more hurtful the truth can be. Therefore, we must be aware of the Truth in order to make our thoughts obey the Truth, Christ
To take a thought captive, we must replace that thought with the truth. We can’t take the thought captive without replacing the thought at the same time
We don’t only want destruction we want construction at the same time. When we destroy strongholds, we get rid of the enemy’s access and now become more filled with God’s Word. We are creating new and positive strongholds with the Lord.
We believe we need to escape from the pain and escape the repeated thought. So we will act and medicate ourselves, which attracts the attention of the enemy.
Pain also wants someone to blame. When I blame you, I believe I don’t have to deal with it because it’s on you, not on me. It’s a way of escape.
Therefore, making a stronghold anything on which someone relies on.
By doing so, we become reliable to the enemy. If the enemy can make you feel lonely and sad, then your body will follow the belief turning to your addiction to give you the safety and comfort you think you like, need food or pornography.
James 1:14-15, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
The enemy entices us with our desires. It will no longer be just a thought but will become an action.
Desires lead to thoughts that form our beliefs that change our actions, which form our habits that shape our character (leading to strongholds).
We are not at the mercy of our desires because this is also how the fruit of the spirit works. We can choose which desire to feed.
For example, I am married to my husband, which means I turn down every other man by default because I am in a covenant relationship. Choosing God means I am always choosing to turn down sin.
We can be trusted to be vessels of the Holy Spirit
Fruit takes time. Peace is not microwaveable.
To destroy strongholds will take active work in our lives with the power of Christ.
Galatians 5:24-25, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
To live with the spirit, we need to keep in step with the spirit, which means we need to be trained.
1 Timothy 4:7, “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.train yourself for godliness.”
Godliness has to be trained. It’s a practice.
To win and destroy strongholds, we must train. That’s why we need weapons that access divine power in our lives.
Ways you can train with me:
- Get my book Face Off with Your Feelings
- Get my coaching program, Spiritual Growth Framework
Rooting for you,
