What are Spiritual Strongholds?

June 6, 2023

Spiritual Strongholds are thick walls or towers that the devil creates in your mind that can very hard to tear down. Some of the ways that these towers are formed are: trauma, rejection, unforgivenss, and deliberate sins. We have to remember that the adversary that we face is a serpent, very crafty and sneaky. His goal is to kill, steal, and destroy by any means necessary, John 10:10.

Your sin is a wide open door that will give the enemy the legal right to come into your life and wreak havoc. He will take your transgression and make sure that it intensifies by the arrows that he throws at your mind. What that will do is guarantee that he can develop strongholds which will hinder your ability to live a life in complete freedom.

Let’s take a look at the Word of God so that we can put the word stronghold into perspective. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 states, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

These passages of Scripture out of the New Testament written by the Apostle Paul are very revealing. He is going into detail about the fact that our weapons are not carnal but spiritual. The fact of the matter is that we cannot fight a spiritual battle with carnal (physical) weapons; we need the Spiritual weapons that the Lord has given us. The most powerful defense that we have is His Word.

As we dig a little deeper into these Bible verses we can see that the word “stronghold” used is the Greek word ochyrōma which means:

A castle: a fortified structure
A fortress: a large strong building
Fastness: a place that is well protected

As you can see a stronghold is a heavy-duty spiritual wall built by lies fed by the devil and his demons. The longer that you allow the thoughts to linger in your mind; the more likely it is that the enemy will use them to strengthen the wall that they are building to keep you bound.

That is why the Apostle Paul is very adamant about casting down thoughts, imaginations, and anything else that is contrary to the Lord’s Word. You will know that the thought is coming from the enemy because it will be something that is completely opposite of what the Word of God says. Some of the most common strongholds that the devil uses against us are: fear, depression, anger, unforgiveness, and self-hatred.

As Christians we have the power to overcome the enemy and his demonic tactics. The problem is that a lot of us don’t get into the Word of God and study it for ourselves. There is no way that you are going to be able to conquer the powerful adversary that you are facing within your own strength. You will need your double-edge Sword to extinguish the strongholds that the devil is trying to form against you.

Never underestimate the enemy’s tactics, he is very legalistic and knows the Lord’s Biblical laws better than most Christians. He knows what he needs to do to make sure that you disobey God’s rules and regulations. For example: he will take your anger and turn it into a full blown rage, he will take your animosity and turn it into hate, and he will take your offense and turn it into unforgiveness.

He will take every adverse emotion that you have and apply pressure to it. God’s Word is very specific on how we are to conduct ourselves as believers of Jesus Christ. So, anything that is contradictory to how the Lord expects for us to act is coming from the enemy. He will continue to build that wall of lies if you allow him to.

Paul explains how we can identify when the thoughts that we have are the enemy’s fiery arrows when he states; “…arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” The word arguments is the Greek word logismos which means a reasoning, one that is hostile to the Christian faith. In other words any thought that is opposing God’s truth which is His Word.

Another indicator that you are facing the enemy’s attempt at building strongholds is if you feel pressure to do something that you know in your heart you would never do. For example there is a bad habit that you are trying to break but you feel an uncontrollable desire to keep doing it. I can’t tell you how vital it is to cast down every single demonic thought that the devil feeds your mind immediately!

If you don’t he will use those thoughts to build strong towers of lies to ensure that you do not receive the truth (Word of God). The Lord uses your Bible to write His law on your heart, Psalm 119:11. It is our responsibility to understand God’s Biblical principles as believers of Jesus Christ. If we don’t, the enemy will take full advantage of our ignorance.

Conclusion

The word stronghold can be described as a castle, a fortress, or a fastness. The way that strongholds are developed is by the enemy infiltrating your mind with thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God. His goal is to get you to come into agreement with the fiery arrows being thrown in your direction. He knows that if you begin to act on the thoughts that he is planting, it will give him and his minions a legal right to wreak havoc in your life.

It is imperative that you cast out all imaginations that are in opposition to what the Bible says about how we should live our lives. We can never forget that it is a constant fight to believe God’s truth over the enemy’s lies. It is our responsibility as Christians to read the Lord’s Word and study to show ourselves approved, 2 Timothy 2:15. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices, 2 Corinthians 2:11.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

The Importance of Reading Your Bible-Shows Us How to Love

The Importance of Reading Your Bible-It Renews Your Mind

The Importance of Reading your Bible-fights the enemy

The Importance of Reading your Bible-has the ability to heal

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Builds Your Faith

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Reveals Jesus Christ

Your Real Enemy

Loving Your Enemies

How to share your Testimony

The Importance of Renewing Your Mind!

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1