Strongholds will Crumble with His Every Breath


I've been talking with several people who are experiencing strongholds in their lives. When I struggled through a spiritual stronghold, it colored my entire life; everything I touched, every thought, word, every action was tempered by the memory of this trauma that I could NOT surrender.

A spiritual stronghold is a painful or traumatic memory, habit, or lie that the enemy continues to recycle in our lives. He nudges us to be afraid, to remember every failure and/or injury, every personal affront and undignified moment. The enemy has a way of embedding hang-ups in us until we believe they are part of our identity. Evil thrives on our fear and pain, prompting us to hold onto the past like an infant clutches a blanket. When we allow the stronghold inside of us, the darkness expands to envelope our soul. Strongholds prevent us from moving forward, keeping us in a frozen state of fear and pain.

How do we break strongholds?

I used to live in Oak Forest, a very south suburb of Chicago. In the winter, the cold seeped in, and the chill was so deep that I never felt completely thawed until Spring.
Spiritual strongholds seep in and take hold in a similar manner. We might escape the fear and pain every once in a while by distracting ourselves for a few moments, but a stronghold's talons implant in our soul. We need the thaw of Spiritual Springtime and the renewal of the Breath of Life to destroy the impact of strongholds in our heart's and lives.
  1. Spiritual Springtime is Jesus' gift of the Holy Spirit. “And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In John 20:22, after Jesus bestows his disciples with the Holy Spirit, they are no longer sad, downhearted, in hiding. Instead, they are empowered. They are excited about life and begin ministering to others, reaching out with joy. We can break strongholds by accepting Jesus' gift of the Holy Spirit and then sharing it with others, leaving behind the pain and fear of past traumas and/or injuries. We can accomplish this as Galatians 5:22,23 says, and reach out to others with the “fruit of the spirit . . . love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.” When we' reach outside of ourselves, manifesting the fruits of the Spirit to help others, the Holy Spirit heals us internally. We extend ourselves outward and forward, and the Holy Spirit heals our pain and sorrow.
  2. Our Breath of life comes from Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the LORD.” When we praise God, thanking Him for blessings, or even singing, dancing, praying, or calling out to him, He blesses us by rinsing away strongholds. Get lost in praise and He lifts us above our pain. Jeremiah 20:13 says, “Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.” Instead of struggling to drag ourselves away from the clutches of a stronghold, praise God for blessings, for life, for love until we are lifted above and out. Before long, we are free and moving forward.
Worrying and focusing on our strongholds is not the answer. Instead, keeping our eyes on the Lord and reaching outward to others will move us out of the pain and beyond the past as the Lord breathes health and life into us; Allow Him to crumble EVERY stronghold, demolishing pain, bitterness, sorrow, and fear.

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