Scripture
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations.... 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
If you want to be free from every stronghold of the enemy in your life, you have to understand that there are two kinds of strongholds: rational and irrational. The rational strongholds are the most difficult to deal with because they usually make sense!
Paul refers to these rational strongholds when he says, Casting down imaginations.... The word imaginations is taken from the Greek word logismos, which is where we get the word logic, as in logical thinking. Thank God for a good, sound mind, but even a sound mind must be submitted to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, your mind will develop a stronghold of natural reasoning that starts to dictate all kinds of lies to your life. These are rational strongholds.
The reason I call them rational strongholds is that they are strongholds in the mind that make sense! You see, your logical mind will always try to talk you out of obeying God. In fact, if you don't take charge of your mind, it will begin to completely dominate and control your obedience to God. It will tell you that you can't afford to obey the Lord and that it isn't a good time to step out in faith. Your natural mind will come up with a whole host of logical reasons to explain why you shouldn't do what the Spirit of God is telling you to do. They are logical but they may not be biblical.
Second, there are irrational strongholds. These primarily have to do with completely unrealistic fears and worries, such as a fear of contracting a terminal disease, a fear of dying early in life, an abnormal fear of rejection, and so forth. These types of irrational strongholds in the mind, emotions, and imagination will normally play their course and then dissipate. But if harassing thoughts persist in your mind and insist on controlling you mentally and emotionally, you must deal with them straightforwardly with the Word of God.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Notice that Paul doesn't say one thing about bringing the devil into captivity. Rather, he tells you to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
The devil tries to invade your life through lies that he plants in your brain. If you don't take your thoughts captive, it will be just a matter of time before the devil starts using those lies to create mental and emotional strongholds for the purpose of keeping you in bondage. But if you take your thoughts captive, then your thoughts cannot take you captive!
Application
Whether those strongholds are rational or irrational, I can take authority over them and cast them down! So I must quit listening to every lie that devil tries to sink into my brain, and start taking those thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ! I must pull down every mental or emotional stronghold in my life with the supernatural weapons of warfare God has given you!
While my family was having our Family Altar tonight, I received a CNA text message that the Taliban will be releasing the 19 South Korean hostages. We were elated! From the onset, I have led my family and church to believe that God was into something bigger in the kidnapping of the hostages. He is sovereign and He does everything in line with His larger purposes. The Taliban agreed to free the Koreans after Seoul agreed to end all missionary work in Afghanistan and in keeping with a promise to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year. God is still sovereign and His plans cannot be thwarted and only time will tell what God is really up to! The Bible says "The horse is made ready for battle BUT the victory belongs to the Lord." (Proverbs 21:31)
Our response to all these is to ensure that we don’t allow strongholds – rational or irrational to take residence in our minds.
Prayer
Lord, help me to see any area of my life that is dominated by rational or irrational strongholds. Forgive me for allowing the devil to sink his lies into my mind, and help me now to uproot and cast down every one of his lies. I know that Your Word will renew my mind to think in accordance with You, so I am asking You today to help me make Your Word my way of thinking today!
