Our meditation today is born out of seeing so many people unable to be completely free from strong forces that prevent them from enjoying all that Jesus died to make available to us all. The Apostle Paul called something strongholds and discussed the weapons of our warfare in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
What are strongholds? They are fortresses of demonic activities that constitute a hold on us bringing us into subjection to the dictates of demonic lifestyles. They constitute hideouts for demonic activities from where many lives are controlled, manipulated and kept in bondage. They operate through the mind and emotions and affect the wills of people. They come in through various avenues entering the soulish arena of mankind. They can start as thoughts, translate to words, influence actions and then constitute themselves as forces to be reckoned with. Every known sin that one deliberately gets into gives rise to a stronghold in the life of the person. Every addiction is a sign of a stronghold. Some people seem to inherit strongholds as some things are passed from one generation to another.
Sexual activities, illicit and perverted ones are known to be avenues through which demonic transferences occur; they are addictive and are strongholds. Many irrational behaviours being irreverent, or selfish, or depressive and/or violent are traceable to strongholds. They are a mass of thoughts developed over a period or instantly and have become a hiding place to house demons in the life of a person or a mighty fortress from where the persons desires, emotions and thoughts are manipulated, controlled and perverted by the demonic presence.
After the new birth, every believer must work on the mind and bring their spirit, soul and body into harmony with the things of God through the Word of God coupled with prayers and discipline to regularly act on the Word.
There are generational curses borne of the activities of ancestors that tend to come on us if we do not renounce, repent and be delivered from the effects of past generational sins. They also constitute strongholds. Our salvation makes the provision available to be delivered totally from these things but we need to apply ourselves to experience the provision. We are encouraged to guard the loins of our minds and put on our waist the belt of truth. The thoughts that we permit and the activities we engage in have everything to do with the nature of strongholds we welcome into our lives. When our spirits get recreated we have the seed of God inside our spirits, the nature of God is there but our souls and bodies need education and discipline to come in line.