The enemy wants to shape our world with the negative. His plans to do this are strategic and calculated. Though his maneuvers may sometimes be unrecognized or subtle, his intentions never are. His intentions are to shape our world so that our world looks like his. He does this by seeking to control our mind.
His job description was laid out ever so clearly in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy..", and he is all about doing his job.
It is the enemies' intention to shift your mindset into a negative stronghold. Strongholds are usually gained little by little by taking ground. The more significant the amount of ground taken, the more significant the stronghold from which he operates. Strongholds are built out of lies believed and acted upon in our lives. The enemy seeks to reinforce the lies believed in our lives because he knows it will only serve to strengthen the walls of the stronghold he has built.
But, God has not left us without hope or defenseless! He has made every provision for us to be totally free. Darkness may masquerade as a formidable foe, but it only takes a tiny match to be lit to chase darkness away. In much the same way, truth chases darkness away. It is the truth of God that sets us free.
Knowing that "the truth will set you free" should make us all avid truth seekers. I'm finding that Holy Spirit deals with me about 'what is true?' versus 'what is a lie?' a lot these days. What we believe shapes everything. We have learned that our words are powerful and creative, but before there is a word on our tongue, there is a thought. If we never learn how to let the truth and revelation of God change our thoughts, we will never master our tongue. Luke 6:35 says, "....for out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks".
In Romans 8, Paul talks about the importance of our mindset. He tells us if a person lives according to the flesh he has his mind set on fleshly things, and if he is going to live according to the Spirit, he must have his mind set on what the Spirit desires. We have the ability to set our mind and we must recognize that we have an active part and a choice in what our mind is set on.
When there is a negative stronghold in our thinking it may be very difficult at first to choose to set our mind on the things of the Spirit. We may feel stuck in certain areas and unable to make right choices or break out of hurtful cycles. This is why the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so important to reveal lies believed and then replace it with the truth of God. God's truth can quickly dismantle a stronghold that has taken years to build.
Jesus said that He came to give us life abundant and I am convinced that a very large key to realizing that abundant life, body, soul and spirit, is in learning to submit to the process of allowing the Spirit of God to change our mindsets into Godly strongholds.
We might as well realize that most of our spiritual battles take place in our mind. Satan has waged war against us and doesn't fight fair. It is His intention to shift your mindset into hopelessness, fear, depression, cynicism, unbelief, defeat, and utter despair.
God's intentions toward us are so abundantly amazing. He is relentless in making sure that we grow up in Him so that we can experience the abundance that He has planned for us.The Holy Spirit is ever present with us and is constantly speaking. If we tune our ears to hear His voice He is continually giving us guidance and direction as to which thoughts are healthy and which thoughts are not.
He has given us the equipment that we need for our battles and as we learn to cast down imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of Him, we will tear down the negative strongholds that have been built in our minds and step into the glorious freedom destined for us as sons and daughters of the kingdom.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace....Rom. 8:6
