What Does It Mean to Have Strongholds In Our Lives?
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The word stronghold reminds me of a treasure chest in a castle—or perhaps an IRA account. The Bible’s use of the word strongholds has a different, less positive connotation. Yes, strongholds are viewed as possessions or practices pursued for financial or physical security, but Jesus stated that these strongholds or “treasures” are not impenetrable to loss. The economy, criminals, enemy troops, or bad health can swiftly destroy earthly strongholds. True security is found in walking with God.
Jesus stated in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Instead of valuing and building strongholds on earth, Christ urged His followers to store up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). As Sophia Bricker wrote in an article in Christianity.com, “Jesus revealed the truth that what a person values most is where their . . . time, attention, actions, and energy will be focused.” For example, if acquiring money becomes a stronghold, it may substitute for the love of God and take over a person’s life. Priorities shift, and the outcome is often not a pretty picture. Lust for material objects becomes more important than living a God-fearing, loving life with others.
What Books of the Bible Mention Strongholds?
In the only mention of strongholds appears in the New Testament, when Paul wrote, “. . . the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). In the first-century Christian church’s context, building the faith community was the “warfare.” It is the movement to share and establish Christianity with nonbelievers. The “weapons of our warfare” with “divine power” is the assurance of victory over sin and death by Jesus’ death on the cross.
However, the battle didn’t end in the first century. Spiritual warfare in people’s hearts continues to be a struggle—forces of good and evil battle. Temptations, doubts, physical and mental illness, conflicts in relationships—these tools of the Devil sometimes undermine our faith.
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (residents of a particularly hedonistic city in ancient Greece) lists some of the strongholds that affected his audience: “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9b-10). Casey R. Clark provides a deeper exploration of these strongholds in his article “The Sins Paul Warns the Church about in 1 Corinthians 6.”
We could substitute the word “addiction” for “stronghold in today’s context. When we do that, we realize modern culture has new terms for these old sins: addictions to drugs, sex, gambling, food, work, and spending are all strongholds. Depending on these practices temporarily ease a troubled soul’s pain, but do not heal the pain. Only Christ can do that.
Are Strongholds Spiritual as Well as Mental?
A stronghold can be a mental crutch that accompanies negative behavior and distorts one’s faith and life in Christ. It can create a vicious cycle: distorting of God’s truth leads to thoughts and actions that damage us and our relationships, which lead to fresh negative thoughts and behavior.
For example, living under the stronghold of shame makes us feel unworthy of love or affection. Negative thoughts lead to negative behaviors—so, we may isolate ourselves from others or take dangerous risks. Shameful people think they are not worthy of treating themselves as God’s children. They don’t consider themselves worthy of God’s grace, so they may stop treating themselves as valued children, then adopt destructive behaviors.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul expands the meaning of the word strongholds to include the thought processes we cling to that oppose God’s wisdom: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against God’s knowledge and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Debates were popular in the Greek world. Paul tells us in this passage that arguments and the accompanying pride must surrender to Jesus’ message of grace. The phrase “take every thought captive” continues the battle language: strongholds may be mental, but it is still a spiritual battle to combat them.
What Traits Do Strongholds Have?
If a stronghold can range from physical addiction to self-destructive behavior or destructive thought processes, how do we identify a stronghold?
Fortunately, the Bible gives us guidance here as well. Crosswalk.com contributor April Motl describes the types of thoughts that hold us captive: anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, bitterness, anxiety, and pride.
For example, suppose someone cannot forgive others or themselves for horrible life events. An addiction to a substance or behavior eases the pain of remembering these negative experiences. A person does not move on to redemption when they can’t receive grace from God. The addiction to a harmful substance or behavior numbs the pain but does nothing to heal the hurt.
Megan Trapp, paraphrasing a point from Neil T. Anderson’s book The Bondage Breaker, considers what happened in Luke 10:10-42 when Jesus sends out his followers:
“. . . when Jesus sends His disciples to bring His kingdom to earth [He] confronted the disciples about several kingdom-killing perversions . . . self-sufficiency, being ashamed of Jesus, unbelief, pride, possessiveness, ministering in the wrong spirit, false confidences, and lame excuses.”
Anderson stresses the importance of recognizing these behaviors with a new perspective: not the world’s view, but Christ’s view.
What Helps Us Get Rid of Strongholds?
The passage cited earlier, 2 Corinthians 10:4, tells us that there is “divine power to destroy strongholds.” The battle is God’s, and it has already been won through Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.
A thought produces fruit, and that fruit is a crucible for determining whether the thought comes from God or not. Does it create “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23) in your spirit, heart, and soul? If not, do spiritual homework, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you out of the quagmire of a stronghold in your life and adopt the fruits of the Spirit.
Trapp’s article provides a plan for seeking God’s truth:
- Write out the lie.
- List the effects it has had on your life.
- Search God’s Word for truth.
- Write the truth from Scripture down.
- Create a prayer that includes the Scripture.
- Repeat this prayer every day for 40 days.
How Can We Lovingly Talk with Someone about Strongholds?
The Bible makes it clear what values can help us show people how to break strongholds: Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). In the same vein, Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor (Luke 10:25-28).
When we follow these simple commands, the fruits of the spirit will ripen in our behavior. These values conflict with worldly values—for example, the idea that people ought to forget about others’ needs, and only seek to prosper themselves, getting into their own heads, and avoiding bearing each others’ burdens.
All this advice doesn’t mean we’ll do live struggle-free lives. Followers of God are not without conflict in their earthly lives. Strongholds—from the world around, from the spiritual realm—will provide temptation to join what appears to be the majority. Live for excess. Follow our own desires. The Bible speaks in Ephesians 6:10-17 about combating temptation with the armor of God. In this chapter, Paul again uses battle imagery to describe fighting forces of evil: “. . . take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Luke 10:16-17).
The contemporary Christian song “Strongholds,” which Chris Tomlin released in 2022, raises a battle cry against strongholds that can bring us encouragement today.
Chris Tomlin - Strongholds from chris-tomlin on GodTube.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/chaiyapruek2520
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