Destroying Strongholds

Destroying Strongholds

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 2 Corinthians 10:4

PAUL WAS WAGING A SPIRITUAL BATTLE about the legitimacy of his ministry, and some of his opponents—rivals who perhaps cast him as an unconvincing, unpolished preacher—were confusing the issue with false arguments and human reasoning. As he addressed his apostolic authority, he gave us profound truths we can apply to our own minds. After all, that’s where many of our spiritual battles take place. We are sometimes troubled with faithless thoughts. We entertain questions that provoke fear, worry, discouragement, disappointment, and bitterness. These attitudes war against our faith, undermine our prayers, and undo our hope. If we want to have the kind of faith that prevails in the spiritual realm, we will have to learn to be ruthless with these thoughts.

That can’t be done with human reasoning. The false arguments in our minds are every bit the spiritual battle Paul faced in his ministry. We have to use God’s weapons against them. We ground ourselves in the revelation he has given; we stake our faith on his promises alone; we filter out distortions and shadows that weaken our expectation of his goodness. God’s weapons overcome human logic and visible evidence. There will be times when we have to choose between a revelation from God and the reasoning of our minds. “This is what God said” is a solid fortress.

Learn to recognize any thought that does not align with God’s perspective and cut it off. Be ruthless. Don’t try to explain it, understand it, reason with it, or accommodate it. If it isn’t God’s thought, dispense with it. Talk with him about what’s true and what isn’t; there’s nothing wrong with clarifying his purposes. But don’t compromise his truth about your identity, calling, or the vision he has given you. Whatever sharpens the sight of faith is good; whatever doesn’t, isn’t. Build your strongholds on the goodness of his nature and the promises he has given his people, and the false, destructive strongholds that have presumed against your faith will lose their power.

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armor of light.