TWO KINDS OF STRONGHOLDS
by Pastor Lemuel Niere
“(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!
The apostle Paul refers to these rational strongholds when he says, “Casting down imaginations…” This word in Greek is 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. We call these rational strongholds.
The reason we 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 host of logical reasons to explain why you shouldn’t do what the Spirit of God is telling you to do.
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, etc. These types of irrational strongholds in the mind, emotions, and imagination will 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 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 the apostle 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!
