“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

During a Wednesday night high school ministry service, our youth pastor asked the students to close their eyes and picture who they thought was the greatest sinner to ever exist. Then, he asked them to yell out the person’s name that came to their mind. They screamed Hitler and the likes.

His point in that exercise was to show the magnitude of what Jesus did for us on the cross because His grace is sufficient no matter how far we think we are from Him.

But when I closed my eyes, the only person that came to my mind was ME.

I couldn’t think of anyone else.

The Uncomfortable Mirror

Every time the Holy Spirit convicts you about the posture of your heart, even in seemingly harmless situations, do you ever struggle with coming face to face with the selfish and divisive nature of your flesh and the brokenness that is being revealed to you?

I most certainly do.

When you truly choose to confront your thoughts, attitudes, heart postures, and eventually your actions, how does that make you feel?

Personally, it makes me want to run away from myself. Have nothing to do with myself. I feel so much unrest in my spirit because I truly cannot figure out how to make myself better.

Because I would have tried just about everything to become more like Jesus.

New habits, new disciplines, more sermons, more podcasts, more serving, more Bible studies, more time in the Word, more unpacking of my heart condition with friends and mentors, and so on.

Yet, I still find myself having the same affections towards sin.

Especially when I am tired, busy, unfocused, or distracted. And it makes me feel absolutely devastated and hopeless because I feel like I have failed my Father. Again!

The Whac-A-Mole of Brokenness

And there is another side to this whole brokenness thing. Because it is ugly, almost like a game of Whac-A-Mole.

The moment you confront and overcome one type of brokenness, something else pops up.

So, eventually, in my journey with the Lord after all these years, I had come to peace with this:

Brokenness is something I will have to contend with until Jesus comes back.

It is the reality of living in flesh on this side of eternity.

But that leaves me with some important questions. What must my attitude be towards my brokenness? How do I continue to live in the freedom God promises us through His Word, even while I am still wrestling with my flesh?

And at what point does my deliverance from sin begin to translate into transformation, where my affections towards sin genuinely begin to change?

I knew that I would have to undergo sanctification and transformation throughout my life. I understood that it would take the renewal of my mind and the continued work of the Holy Spirit for my affections towards sin to change. But somehow, I still struggled with living in the in-between.

I knew this battle was both spiritual and mental. And the battle was only getting fiercer in my mind. I needed to learn and understand how to face this battle in my mind and be victorious!

When I was wrestling with these questions, the Holy Spirit prompted me to read 2 Corinthians 10:4.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

As I read this scripture, my mind was fixated on strongholds. And I think it got my wheels spinning about this whole sin dilemma until Jesus comes back.

Demolishing Strongholds

For a good part of my walk with the Lord, I had understood strongholds primarily as demonic attacks themselves. While the enemy can certainly exploit strongholds to oppress and influence our minds, I began to understand that strongholds are also established through lies that take deeper roots in our minds and become beliefs we hold on to as truth.

My Bible (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible by Jack W. Hayford) has a small write-up titled “Demolish Strongholds” under Kingdom Dynamics. It dramatically improved my understanding of strongholds, their influence on a believer’s life, and how they can be confronted and demolished.

“Strongholds are first established in the mind; that is why we take every thought captive.

Behind a stronghold is also a lie – a place of personal bondage where God’s Word has been subjugated to any unscriptural idea or personally confused belief that is held to be true.

Behind every lie is a fear, and behind every fear is an idol.

Idols are established wherever there exists a failure to trust in the provisions of God that are ours through Jesus Christ.

Some of the weapons that demolish these strongholds are:

God’s Word (Heb 4:12-13),

The blood of the cross (Rev 12:11) and

The name of Jesus (Mk 16:17).

Strongholds are demolished and confronted bondage is broken as these spiritual weapons of our warfare are employed (Eph 6:13-18).”

When I first read this snippet, it quite literally blew my mind because I had a completely different understanding of strongholds. And after the Lord pointed me to this Scripture, I began to understand the difference between how my mind had been processing my brokenness and what Scripture was actually revealing about the battle I was facing.

The Battlefield

As I continued meditating on this Scripture, I began to realize that perhaps I had been approaching my struggles differently than I needed to. I had spent so much time trying to change my habits, behaviors, and outward responses, but I wasn’t consistently confronting the underlying lies, fears, and beliefs that were influencing them.

I knew that renewing my mind was essential, but I needed to understand what that actually looked like when I was in the middle of a battle. How do I identify these strongholds? How do I confront what is happening beneath the surface? And how do I actively engage in this process instead of simply trying harder to overcome my brokenness?

I needed a battle strategy.

Not that I had never renewed my mind in Christ. In fact, I had done this many times by “spiritually common sensing” my way through struggles. But I needed something more intentional. Something truly rooted in the Word. Something that would require me to actively engage in my faith in tandem with the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

And this Scripture seemed to be it!

The more I meditated on it, the more a battle plan began forming in my mind. And it goes like this.

• First, identify the strongholds that have been holding me captive in the various circumstances I am facing. This is akin to figuring out where the battle is happening so that I can prepare and march towards it instead of avoiding it. A difficult circumstance is not necessarily a stronghold, but the lies I believe, the fears I entertain, and the things I place my trust in instead of God can become strongholds that influence how I think and respond. I must first be willing to recognize what is happening in my mind and heart instead of avoiding it.
• Second, for each stronghold, through prayer, reading the Word, and the wisdom from walking in the Spirit, I can unpack the lie, the fear, the idol, and the area where I am failing to trust the Lord in my life. This step is similar to performing a SWOT analysis as I build my battle strategy.
• Third, honestly confess my sin and repent before the Lord. From experience, I most definitely don’t think the next step is immediately speaking the Word of God against the lies I am facing. That’s probably the easy part. And I don’t say that lightly, but in light of what must be confronted in my heart before I get there.
  • Due to the pain and the amount of work it takes, I think it can be tempting to skip this part, including for myself. And that is true, complete, and honest confession of sin and repentance.
  • Having done this over and over again, and having also skipped this step over and over again, I can attest that this is very difficult to do. Especially when the situation I am facing is rooted in deep pain, shame, and disappointment. And if it has been a long-drawn-out battle, I am talking about decades. I know many of you know what I am talking about.
  • However, this is essential. I must be willing to come before the Lord with honesty about my sin, my heart, and the things I have been holding on to. I cannot expect to confront a stronghold while refusing to acknowledge what needs to change in me. Confession is acknowledging my sin before God, and repentance is turning away from it and turning towards Him. And as I allow Him to expose the deeper wounds, fears, and beliefs that have influenced my responses, I can also invite Him into the healing process.
  • This is where the difficult work of being honest with God and myself begins. It is uncomfortable, but I cannot skip this part of the process and expect to experience the transformation I am praying for.
• Fourth, identify and use the spiritual weapons God has given me to demolish these strongholds. Scripture is very clear that the weapons of our warfare are not of this world but have divine power to demolish strongholds. I cannot rely on my own strength or simply try harder. I must learn to stand on what God has provided through Jesus Christ. This step is similar to fighting the battle itself.
  • There is truth in God’s Word that speaks to the lies I believe and the struggles I face. If I don’t know what it is, I can seek the Lord for wisdom and understanding. I have seen God lead me to the very Scripture I needed through a sermon, podcast, book, Instagram post, a resource, a mentor, or just about anything in my everyday life. I have seen God do this time and again, and some of my greatest breakthroughs have come through these moments.
  • But I must remember that the victory is not in simply finding a verse and speaking it over my situation. It is in allowing God’s truth to confront the lies I have believed and renew my mind. I must also remember the victory Jesus secured for me through His sacrifice on the cross and the authority I have in His name.
• Lastly, I must continually depend on Jesus and the Holy Spirit as I fight this battle. Even if I cannot immediately identify the Scripture that speaks to my situation, I can still call on the name of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding. I can pray and ask Him to help me discern what is happening in my heart, what needs to change, and how I must respond in obedience to Christ.
  • I must remember that I am not fighting this battle alone. The Holy Spirit is my Helper, and I need His direction throughout this process. This is not simply about finding the right Scripture or following the right steps. It is about actively engaging in my faith while depending on Him to help me take every thought captive and submit it to Jesus.

And that, I realized, is the attitude I must maintain as I walk through life while battling my affections towards sin. Not allowing disappointment in myself to consume me every time I stumble, but learning to recognize where I need to surrender and stand in the victory Jesus has secured for me. I cannot skip the process, but I can trust the Lord to walk me through it. I must continue to confront the lies, renew my mind with His Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform my affections as I learn to walk in obedience to Him.

Prayer

Father, thank You for Your grace that is sufficient even in my weakest moments. Help me not to become consumed by disappointment in myself every time I stumble, but to turn towards You, confront what needs to change in my heart, and allow You to transform me.

Forgive me for the times I have succumbed to my flesh, allowed my thoughts to go unchecked, or relied on my own strength instead of depending on Your Spirit. Give me the courage to be honest with You and myself. Help me recognize the lies I have believed, the fears I have entertained, and the areas where I have failed to trust You.

Holy Spirit, teach me how to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Give me wisdom and discernment to recognize the strongholds in my mind, the humility to confess and repent, and the discipline to stand firm in the truth of Your Word. Help me not to skip the difficult parts of this process but to trust You to walk me through them.

Jesus, thank You for the victory You have already secured for me through Your sacrifice on the cross. When the battle feels overwhelming, remind me that I do not fight in my own strength. Help me continually depend on You, walk in the freedom You have given me, and allow my thoughts, affections, and actions to be transformed by Your Spirit.

May my life increasingly reflect the freedom and victory I have in Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen!