How to abolish strongholds in our spiritual life.

(I’m using the new posting method and accidentally hit “publish” but then a cool little button came up that said “revert to draft” so I hit that. Don’t know if it worked or not. So you may have had this post last night. I apologize.)

Do you have strongholds in your spiritual life?

You know, the areas where you seem to struggle to gain victory. Sometimes you make gains but it’s the “thorn in your side”. For many that thorn is depression.

Wouldn’t it be great if we just bounded ahead in great big steps from one stronghold to another, defeating each new one along the way? But then they wouldn’t be strongholds, would they? They’d be challenges, but not strongholds. A stronghold is by definition,  A STRONG HOLD.

Strongholds can be positive. For example, God is our stronghold because he holds onto us strongly, especially when the other kind of strongholds, the destructive ones, take hold of us.

Maybe we could say that those destructive ones are because we haven’t let God hold us strong.

I like what Joyce Meyer’s says:

Table of Contents

The fight to destroy Satan’s strongholds comes mostly by daily, doggedly, moving ahead.

If your stronghold is depression, anxiety, or a combination of both, you most certainly will have to doggedly move ahead. But God is always holding on to you strongly. He will not let you fall into the abyss.

I love Psalm 40:2. Here’s the verse in a number of translations.

Parallel Verses New International Version He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.   New Living Translation He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. English Standard Version He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. New American Standard Bible He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. King James Bible He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Holman Christian Standard Bible He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. International Standard Version He plucked me out of a pit of confusion, even out of the quicksand; he placed my feet on a rock and established my steps.

This is one of my favorite verses and it’s easy for me to visualize the whole scene.

If you’re feeling a little insecure today, if your steps are faltering, if you’re scared, pick one of these verses and make it your mantra for the day. Visualize standing on a slippery rock, almost falling off but God literally reaches down and steadies your feet.

Let God’s STRONG arms HOLD you up.

God bless and I hope you have a good day.