Symptoms of mental strongholds
As believers, we have the amazing privilege of receiving the mind of Christ through the loving counsel, conviction and correction of the ever faithful Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in our hearts. Renewing our minds takes concerted effort because of our existing mental strongholds. A mental stronghold is a pattern of thinking that has been established over time and is reinforced by our observations and experiences. Mental strongholds are almost impossible to break out of, if not for the truth we find in the Bible or hear from the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Bible describes it this way, that we need to destroy arguments and opinions in our heads that keep us from seeing God’s truth through divine weapons of warfare.
(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 精神坚垒的症状 | 繁體中文 > 精神堅壘的症狀)
1 Corinthians 2:11-16 ESV For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
There is one Stronghold that we are meant to have in life and that is God Himself. He is our rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, and salvation. Jesus calls us to abide in Him as well as in His Word. It is His truth that will set us free from destructive mental strongholds. This means that we are to personally know Him and know biblical truths so well that we are no longer “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind” of teaching. The Lord is good and faithful to all who follow and obey Him! He will keep us safe and secure by helping to steer the direction of our thoughts.
Psalm 18:2-3 ESV The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
John 8:31-32 ESV So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 15:4 ESV Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Ephesians 4:14 ESV so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
God has provided everything for us to experience a life of victory, freedom and sweet joy. Yet we can remain trapped in wrong thinking and harmful attitudes that keep us in bondage to sin.
Ephesians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Here are just a few outward signs of possible mental strongholds:
- Anxiety
- Despair
- Fear
- Judgment
- Performance
- Lust
- Pride
- Self-righteousness
These are not personality traits but mental strongholds that manifest as personality traits and behaviours. They are unhealthy attitudes picked up along the way in life, particularly from childhood when we were vulnerable to external influences.
Testing for mental strongholds
We need to keep in mind that any pattern of thinking that goes against our personal knowledge of Jesus as being alive and active in our lives is basically anti-christ. All anti-christian mental strongholds are formed by the god of this world, Satan and his kingdom of darkness, whose aim is to kill steal and destroy all the good things that God has prepared for us. Demonic mental strongholds keep us walking in darkness.
John 10:10 ESV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Here is an example as a contrast.
Christ-centred thoughts
“I am loved by God who sent His Son to die for me, Jesus did not come to condemn me but to save me (John 3:16-17). I have been reconciled with God the Father even in my sinful state (Romans 5:10) because of His mercy. This is not because of anything I have done or can do to earn His favour (Ephesians 2:8-9). His favour is on me because I have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. I am now a child of God, an heir of God (1 John 3:2; Romans 8:16–17). I no longer have to feel like an orphan, unloved or rejected (Romans 8:15). How glorious is my God, who loved me before I knew how to love Him (1 John 4:19). This is why I gladly love and obey Him, because I know and trust in His unwavering love for me (Ephesians 2:4-5). I no longer have to live in fear of anything (1 John 4:18). If I fall into sin, I know I can quickly turn back to Him and He will welcome me with much rejoicing in heaven (Luke 15:7)!”
Demonic mental strongholds
“I don’t think God can love me. I am still a sinner. I can never please God. He is angry with me. He has impossible standards that I can’t meet. I am not perfect, I need to be perfect before God accepts me. There is nothing I can do to make things right with God. God has turned His face away from me. I am condemned. I am unworthy of His love.”
How can we test for mental stronghold in our own thinking patterns that are antichrist in nature? By comparing the outcome of our thought patterns with how the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and minds.
1. Am I exhibiting all of the Fruit of the Spirit in my life?
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
2. Am I growing in wisdom and fear of God?
Isaiah 11:2 ESV And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3. Am I able to exercise self-control and live without fear?
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
4. Am I a bold and loving witness for Jesus?
Acts 1:8 ESV But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
5. Am I living in freedom from sin?
2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
6. Am I always hopeful?
Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
7. Am I able to follow all that God wants me to do?
Ezekiel 36:27 ESV And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
8. Am I in an intimate relationship with God?
Galatians 4:6 ESV And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
If we answer “no” to any of these questions, we ought to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the spiritual strongholds in our lives that we have been blind to. God is faithful and will guide us towards a restored relationship with Him!
Testimony: Renouncing condemnation and leaning on the Holy Spirit to bring truth
“Whenever my children cried, I would feel a rope of condemnation tightening around my neck. I would tell myself that I was stupid for making this or that mistake, it felt like everything was my fault. I felt wrung up and twisted inside from it. This was most extreme with my first child, leading to a few panic attacks and at times, feeling detached from reality.
I was exhausted all the time from making sure I was constantly available to my children. I craved physical rest. Initially, I had accepted this as postpartum anxiety, but praise God, it became clear to me that in fact, there was some spiritual stronghold. There was no fruit of the Holy Spirit. In fact, just the opposite; anxiety, weariness, feeling stuck, and condemnation.
I knew that the torment I felt inside did not match up with the truth I knew in my mind, and that the way I felt was not right with God. I knew I needed prayer and shared this with my husband at home one evening. Praise God, He used my husband to intercede for me then and there.
When I was young, I came to believe the lies that I was unlovable, had been set aside, and needed to perform in order to be loved. This allowed in spirits of rebellion, rejection, torment, and lies. With my husband’s help, I renounced the lies these spirits had planted in my heart and commended them to leave my home. I declared that I died on the cross with Jesus and rose again with Him and am made new. There was an immediate relief.
Since then, I have noticed that it feels like there is a stream of water running through me. When I start to have thoughts of condemnation and a tightening feeling around my neck, I remind myself to repent for my pride and crucify my flesh. As I do this, I have found that the accusations of the enemy get carried away by the stream of water flowing through me.
When we have died to our flesh, the arrows of the enemy have nothing to hit, and the living water in us washes them away.”
May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love God with all your heart and destroy mental strongholds that keep you from knowing Him intimately.