How Strongholds Gain Access to Your Life.

Pain is often the entry point through which spiritual strongholds gain access to our lives. An unhealed wound becomes the gate the enemy uses to introduce deadly thinking and as a result, when life gets hard, we’re tempted to back away from God’s promises in order to avoid the possibility of getting hurt again or having to deal with more disappointment down the road. But far too often what we call “self protection” is actually the enemies prison. You think you’re keeping people out when in reality the enemy is keeping you in.

This is where we become slaves to fear rather than ambassadors of faith.

Retreating starts in your mind before it manifests itself in your life. Quitting, after all, is a mindset; a dangerous stronghold that serves as poison to your divine purpose.

• Pastors and leaders walk away from the ministry mentally long before they ever submit their resignation publicly.
• Husbands and wives walk away from their marriages in their minds before they ever step foot in an attorneys office to file for a divorce.
• Sin plays out in the mind before it manifests itself in our actions.

That’s why if you don’t learn how to “take these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ” you run the risk of forfeiting God’s wonderful promises not only for yourself, but for your family as well.

And the enemy doesn’t waste time in his attempts to inflict pain. He knows that if he wants to maximize destruction he needs to inflict relational, emotional, and mental wounds at an early age. According to Revelation 12:4, his strategy is to start his attack at birth:

“…And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”

From the moment we’re born Satan makes it his mission to hurt us. Sometimes these attacks are manifested through:

• The hurtful words of a wounded parent: “You never finish anything – You’re going to be just like your father/mother – You’ll never do anything worthwhile with your life!” Other times it wasn’t the words of a parent, but rather their silence that’s left you empty and starving for affirmation (just remember – hurt people hurt people).
• Abusive actions: of an old romantic relationship, boss, peer, family members, or a spiritual leader.
• Sexual encounters in high school or collage that left your heart empty and feeling confused.

These all result in wounds that become entry points used by the enemy to introduce emotional, mental, and spiritual strongholds. So, how do you eliminate this access point from your life?

Refuse to let fear dictate your future!

It’s the fear of getting hurt all over again that often keeps us locked in our prison of pain.

At first this may seem a bit scary, but you need to understand that Jesus uses the process of teaching us how to walk THROUGH the pain in order to heal us from the pain.

[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]Jesus uses the process of teaching us how to walk through the pain in order to heal us from the pain. [/shareable]

We often times wait for Jesus to heal our hearts BEFORE we start taking steps of faith, but healing happens WHILE we’re walking it out.

It’s like a patient who’s had knee replacement surgery; the key to getting them back on their feet again is to get them to walk on that wounded knee as soon as possible. Medical professionals actually get knee and hip replacement patients on their feet the very same day of their surgery! Does it hurt to put pressure on the joint that was just cut open? Yes. But they know that the only hope the patient has of ever walking without pain is learning how to first walk through the pain.

[shareable cite=”@PastorTHall”]You can’t get to the place of walking without the pain until you first learn how to walk with it. [/shareable]

Jesus works through the process. He walks with us and gives us the courage to step into the wounded and insecure areas of our lives one step at a time. Trust Him today and take your first step.

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