Victory Over Strongholds

Read: 2 Corinthians 10
“but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,” 2 Corinthians 10:4

Examine:
Strongholds come in many forms. They can be people, sins, weaknesses, confusion, recurring thoughts, fears or anything else in our life that threatens the work of God. In verses 3, 4, and 5 of this chapter Paul outlines three keys to gaining victory over strongholds.

Apply:
The first place to start is always the mission. Paul points this out to me in verse 5 by reminding me that the goal is always obedience to Christ. Overcoming a stronghold is never about winning or conquering; it is about alignment and submission. My pride often desires to overcome something so that I can say, “Look at what I did.” There are also times that I desire to overcome a stronghold because I feel like I will be in a better position to demand things from God. Those objectives are corrupt and I cannot fight corruption with corruption. My passion in fighting a stronghold has to be rooted in brokenness over the pain the stronghold causes Christ.

This mission is always first, but a close second is putting down weapons of the flesh as Paul mentions in verse 3. Weapons of the flesh are things like learning, knowledge, personal influence, impressive credentials, polished arguments, and self-determination. Those things are not evil and God does not forbid them but they cannot and will not ever have any power over spiritual strongholds. I have to set them aside.

The hardest part of this lesson is humbling myself to picking up only the weapons of God. Just as it seemed insignificant when David stood against Goliath with only a few small stones and a slingshot it also feels insignificant to acknowledge that the only weapons God desires us to use are His proclaimed Word and prayer. Those two things are the only hope I have in seeing strongholds demolished.

Prayer:
This morning I woke up with a deep brokenness in my heart over a particular stronghold. Lust is longing for something I do not have purely for the purposes of gratifying something You have forbidden. Lust is a stronghold in my life. It is a battle I face daily and something that threatens me every moment of every day. I try to use weapons of the flesh by protecting what I see, being careful where I go, turning my head when temptation comes, and determining in myself to stay pure. Those things are good and necessary but they are weak defenses and can be overcome if the situation is right. They do not have the power to change my heart from desiring dark things nor can they center it on celebrating the things of Light.

Having the right motive, putting aside weapons of the flesh, and fighting with Your Word and prayer is the only way to overcome strongholds. As I say that I know that it is true but I also know that I am clueless on where to go from here. My prayer life is weak. I understand the power of Your Word more each day and have learned to joyfully anticipate walking with You in it each morning but my prayers often feel useless. I do not experience the power of You flowing through them in a manner that I see my strongholds demolished.

This pains my flesh to say and I honestly do not look forward to what I am inviting You to do, but Father I ask that You take my heart align it with Christ more deeply, remove its focus from weapons of the flesh, and teach it to effectively wield the weapons of Your Word and prayer.