Pulling Down Strongholds

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but might through God for the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). Do you know what strongholds are? They are excuses and reasonings that people use to support their beliefs and ideologies. We do not change mindsets through matching the prowess of people in the world. We defeat wrong mindsets through abiding in Christ and trusting God with the next step. We might not know what the next step is, but as we abide in peace and love, we will be guided step-by-step.

We think that we have to compete with the world on their terms so that we can witness to them. This is a subtle way of allowing our own selfish wants to seek fulfilment. These wants are security, significance and self-worth. We delude ourselves into believing that we are "serving God", when a lot of the time, we are serving our own lower natures.

What I have come to understand it that everyone in the world wants to be happy. But we try to make ourselves happy by attaining those things that we believe will satisfy our lustful cravings. Then, when we have satisfied those wants, and then we will be happy. Why not just go straight for happiness? When we allow God to have His way in our lives, we experience love, peace and joy - regardless of whether we are rich or poor.

Favour with others is not attained through the pursuit of people, power or possessions. In fact, the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2:22 what we should pursue: righteousness, faith, love, peace. Favour with others is a spiritual thing that is attained through the manifestation of the light of life.

Why do we forsake the things of the spirit, which is life and peace, for the things of the world, which is heavy and cumbersome? (See Romans 8:6). Have you ever met a person and just found you truly loving them and wanting to do something kind for them - for seemingly no reason at all? Did that person have to perform in order to attain your favour? What did it feel like on the inside when you yielded to that love? Now, in contrast, what does it feel like when someone is clearly attempting to gain your approval through logical reasoning or performance? Don't you feel used, intimidated, frustrated and irritable?

I believe that we bring on the intimidation of others when we try to compete with them on their own terms. By doing this, we are just like David when he tried to strap-on Saul’s heavy armour in 1 Sam. 17:38-39, which can be likened to the self-defensiveness that people in the world use. Such efforts deny the favour that only the light of life can bring. Self-justification, I believe, not only includes our efforts to be right with God, but also our efforts to find a sense of purpose, self-esteem, identity and fulfilment. Such efforts bring us under the curse of the law.