For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh) but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (or spiritual fortresses), casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV

This message is very close to my heart, because I struggled with a stronghold for a long time after I was born again. Because of this, I have so much compassion for anyone who may be going through a similar battle. At the time I didn’t even know that what I was dealing with was a stronghold and because of this, I never knew how to overcome it.  

The Lord in His mercy and lovingkindness helped me realise that I had a stronghold in my mind which needed to be pulled down and overcome. He brought me into the truth that set me free from the lie I was believing, and from there He gave me the victory plan so that I could completely overcome the enemy in this area. I will always be so thankful to God and I will always remember what He did for me.

What is a stronghold?

• A physical stronghold is a place that has been fortified so as to protect itself against attack.
• A spiritual or demonic stronghold is when a thought or idea (which is based upon a lie) has been build up into a fortified city (metaphorically speaking) in our minds. This thought or idea has grown in strength and reasoning to the point that nothing but the truth of God’s word, as well as the spiritual weapons He has given us can demolish it.

How is a stronghold formed?

I received this understanding from a dear friend and brother in Christ. A stronghold is formed in a person’s mind. It can form based upon what someone says, or it can start out as a thought (based on a lie) which comes from the enemy. If we believe this lie to be true, that is normally where fear or distress (extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain) comes in. At this point, we start questioning, reasoning or arguing the thought until it starts to consume most of our thinking. This is how the stronghold gets build up in our minds. The problem with strongholds is that they will normally bring us into some sort of bondage – like fear. When we believe a lie, chances are that we will think and act according to that lie.

This is exactly how it happened for me. I started getting repetitive intrusive thoughts which were very disturbing. I believe the key to understanding what is meant by ‘intrusive thoughts’ is in the name itself (intrusive) – meaning that these thoughts are unwelcome and sent our way without invitation or permission. I now understand that these thoughts were sent my way from the enemy. The problem I had at the time was that I didn’t know that the enemy could do this, so I assumed that the unwelcome disturbing thoughts were my own. That is when I started yielding to fear because I started to believe the lies I was being fed. As a result, I started giving the thoughts a lot of attention with reasonings and arguments like, “Why am I having these thoughts and what does this mean?” By doing this, I built up a stronghold in my mind without even realizing it.

How to identify if you have a stronghold in your mind?

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “casting down arguments”. Any time we experience thoughts in our mind which we “argue” or give a lot of attention to because we are trying to analyze them, understand them, or figure them out – this is a good indication that we may be dealing with a stronghold. Any thoughts that seem to be playing over and over in our minds which cause us great fear or distress (extreme anxiety, pain or sorrow) could be an indication of a stronghold. A stronghold could also be based on beliefs we have built up over a long period of time which are contrary to the truth of God’s Word. These beliefs could have defensive walls (arguments and reasonings) built around themselves so as to protect themselves from attack.

The purpose of this message is to illustrate the principles from Scripture of how we can use the spiritual weapons God has given us to demolish spiritual strongholds. The biblical principles will always remain the same, however I do understand that a stronghold may differ from person to person. We may not all experience it the same way, and we may not all experience the same strongholds. Having said that, I hope that by me sharing my experience with you, it may show you an example of what it could look like.

As I previously mentioned, unfortunately I struggled with a particular stronghold for a long time because I just didn’t know how to overcome it. When I finally realized that I was dealing with a stronghold, the Lord led me to the Scripture which tells us that He has given us spiritual weapons to pull down strongholds.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh) but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (or fortresses), casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV

I was absolutely desperate for freedom and victory at this point, so I asked the Lord what the weapons are, and how to use them (because 2 Corinthains tells us that we have weapons to pull down strongholds, but it doesn’t tell us what these weapons are or how to use them). The Lord then led me back to the Old Testament where we see a perfect picture of how God instructed the Israelites to destroy Jericho. Jericho was a fortified city (or stronghold) with large walls which needed to be pulled down so that the Israelites could conquer the city and burn it. They were also instructed to never build on Jericho ever again.

May I kindly encourage you to read Joshua chapter 6, as it gives us the full story of how the Israelites conquered this stronghold. God used this allegory to teach me about the weapons we have been given and how we can use them to pull down strongholds and completely overcome them. I would love to share this with you:

Understanding the allegory about Jericho (a fortified city)

The hidden meaning of a stronghold or fortified city in Scripture, refers to a stronghold which has been built up in our minds, normally because of thoughts and lies sent our way from the enemy.

We know from Scripture that Jericho was a strong fortified city which had a great big wall around the city to protect it. The Lord commanded Joshua and the Israelite army to completely destroy Jericho, with the promise that the Lord had secured their victory. The Lord knows that strongholds are not good for us, therefore He commands us to destroy any strongholds which may have built up, so that we can experience freedom and victory in Christ.

Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat.

Joshua 6:1-5 NKJV

I’d like to share with you my understanding of this allegory based on what I believe the Holy Spirit has taught me:

• The number seven in Scripture always speaks of perfection or completeness.
• Jericho was a stronghold or fortified city which represents strongholds which form in our minds.
• The ark of God represented God’s presence that went with His people as well as the victory He promised them. Today believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit living in us. He is always with us – giving us the victory in Christ.
• Trumpets in this context of Scripture represent praising God using His written Word. (see allegory of Gideon in a previous blog post – Praising God using His written word – Preparing the bride of Christ)
• Great shouts represent victory proclamations.
• Seven trumpets represent using perfect praise from the word of God as a spiritual weapon of attack.
• Joshua 6:9 says, “The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.” I believe the ‘armed men’ were men dressed in battle armor carrying their weaponry. This helps us understand that it is imperative for us to be wearing the full armor of God during this battle. In other words: having hope to protect our minds (the helmet of salvation), faith and love to protect our hearts (the breastplate of righteousness), peace to protect our walk (the sandals of the gospel of peace), truth to protect us from lies and deception (the belt of truth), and faith in God to protect us (the shield of faith).
• Once the walls of the city fell down flat, the Israelites had to go into the city and destroy everything with the edge of the sword (Joshua 6:20-21). This represents us using the sword of the Spirit as another weapon of attack.

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

Joshua 6:20-21 NKJV

When God gave me the understanding of this allegory (as I have explained it to you), I had to then apply it to my situation.

The first step to victory was the revelation of the truth.

As I previously mentioned, I was in bondage because I thought that the intrusive thoughts I was experiencing were my own thoughts, and I started to believe the lies associated with the thoughts. On one particular day, the Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to me, saying, “Annie, these thoughts are not your own.” These words from the Lord brought so much freedom into my mind and into my heart, and I felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. I then realized that the thoughts had been deliberately sent my way from the enemy.

Even though this truth set me free from the lie I was believing, it didn’t stop the enemy from continually sending the thoughts my way. The Lord helped me understand that this was a strategy from the enemy to try and bring me back into bondage, and back into the arguments which led to the formation of the stronghold. Therefore, just as the Israelites used the weapons God gave them to destroy Jericho, I too realized that if I wanted full victory, I was going to have to fight for it. I wanted the intrusive thoughts to stop, and I was prepared to fight for the freedom and victory God promised me.

I then memorized the following Scripture which God gave me, as I knew that this was the Scripture I should use to fight the enemy:

O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

For You have made a city a ruin, a fortified city (a stronghold) a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.

Isaiah 25:1-2 NKJV    

The hidden meaning behind this Scripture is as follows:

A city can be a reference to a person’s mind.

A palace of foreigners can be interpreted to mean those thoughts which have taken up residency in our minds.      

This Scripture which the Lord gave me follows the exact pattern we see from the allegory of Jericho. When the priests blew on the trumpets (representing praising God from His written Word), the people also shouted with great shouts (representing victory proclamations) which caused the walls to fall down flat. After that they went in to destroy everything in the city with the edge of the sword (representing fighting the enemy using the sword of the Spirit / the Word of God). This Scripture (the sword of the Spirit) includes praise as well as a victory proclamation.

I would like to point out that this Scripture also contained a promise from the Lord which gave me hope. Not only was He was going to destroy the stronghold in my mind, but He also promised that it would never be rebuilt. I chose to believe this as a promise from the Lord and that is how He gave me the faith I needed to overcome.

As I used this Scripture to fight the enemy, the battle definitely intensified, but at this point I was determined to win. As the enemy pushed, I pushed back even harder. It honestly felt like a wrestling match in my mind, which actually helped me better understand the Scripture from Ephesians 6:12, which says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but we do wrestling with principalities and powers, and the rulers of darkness. I had to fight using this Scripture for about an hour non-stop, but after that I could tell the enemy backed off because he knew that he was defeated. The same attack came back a few times after that, but it was now easy to overcome because I knew what it was and I knew how to overcome.

Because of what the Lord taught me, I can testify that I have complete victory over this stronghold and complete freedom from these intrusive thoughts. Jesus gave me the promised victory and I will always be so thankful and so grateful for what He did for me. Thank You precious Jesus!

I understand that strongholds may differ from person to person, and that we may all experience it somewhat differently. I hope that what I have shared within this chapter is sufficient to help anyone who may be going through a similar battle.  My heart goes out to you because I know what it’s like. But I can personally testify that the Lord is very good. He cares about you more than you know, and He is willing to help you. If you think you may be struggling to overcome a stronghold, call out to Jesus and ask Him to help you. I know He will, and you will soon have victory over this.

I pray this message blesses you, and that it encourages you to pick up your weapons to fight off any attacks from the enemy. May God continue to guide you, teach you and strengthen your faith in Jesus’ precious name.