Jan 12th - Strongholds

When I was a little boy, we had to be creative with our entertainment. There were no video games or Internet to surf and on a good night only three TV channels to watch and if Gunsmoke was on you were out of luck. So to entertain ourselves for hours on end, we would build clubhouses, play "army", or even "Cowboys and Indians". One of the more favorite games that required no costumes or sticks that looked like machine guns or extra lumber, was "King on the Mountain". All it required was a small hill and a lot of tenacity. We would come home worn out and dirty from top to bottom. It was fun though. I remember vividly the absolute joy of being able, if for only a moment, to actually be the "king". You see, I was the smallest and youngest of three brothers. Needless to say, I got thrown around quite a bit.
There are many influences in our lives that always press to be "King on the Mountain". Some are more seductive than others but all seem to have one thing in mind. They want to be king!
Your flesh wants to be king.
Your will wants to be king.
Your mind wants to be king.
The devil wants to be king.
Paul understood this very well. He realized that our greatest battles are of a spiritual nature. 2 Corinthians 10:1-5 has a wellspring of insight about overthrowing unwelcome "kings" in our lives. We learn that...

Our battles are spiritual.
Our weapons are powerful.
Our battles are mostly internal.

When we pull down strongholds, we're literally pulling down "castles in the mind". That's what the word "strongholds" means. Sometimes the way we think is our greatest enemy. Sometimes we believe things that are not true.

Elijah believed he was the last man standing up for God. It wasn't true.
Anorexic people believe they are fat. It's not true.
Depressed people believe there is no hope. It's not true.

Do you have a false belief about you or your circumstances that keeps screaming "I want to be king"?
Jesus taught us in Matthew 6 who needs to have free reign in our lives every day. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He's the only influence that has a right to be King in our lives. Your internal enemies may seem too big for you to tackle but believe me, when you get the victory through using the spiritual weaponry that God has mightily supplied, you will experience what I got a taste of years ago. Absolute joy.

Meet you in the morning,
Sam

Suggested Reading:
Proverbs 12
2 Cor. 10:1-5

Quote of the Day: "The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself how it is to cross rivers." - Gladys Aylward