Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Doubting Castle

Thoughts raced through my mind. I felt like I was being punished. Why had the Lord allowed me to get in an accident? At first, I thought if only the physical pain would subside, I'd be fine. But long after my back healed from the soft tissue damage I'd experienced, I was plagued by anxiety. Irrational fears haunted my days and I was unable to sleep at night. What was happening to me? Never before had I encountered such a fierce mental struggle.

Unwittingly, I had uncovered a stronghold in my thought process. If something bad happened, it meant that God didn't love me. In her book entitled, Praying God's Word, Beth Moore defines a stronghold as, "Anything that exalts itself in our minds, 'pretending' to be bigger or more powerful than our God. It steals much of our focus and causes us to feel overpowered. Controlled. Mastered" (p. 3). That's exactly where I found myself. I began questioning God's love for me and unintentionally gave the enemy a foothold in my life. Peter gives us an excellent description of our enemy, in addition to some good advice, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).


Several years earlier, I had read the words penned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds); Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (KJV; emphasis mine). According to these verses, the battle takes place in our minds. The most effective way to influence our actions is to influence our thinking. Our enemy knows this and daily bombards us with lies, hoping that we won't be able to distinguish a lie from the truth.


Throughout my struggle, God's word assured me that I was not alone. He walked beside me each step of the way, no matter how I felt. The Lord even provided armor for me that would protect me from my enemy. I didn't have to develop a strategy or plot a sneak attack, God's word promised me that all I had to do was stand: "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13). If I would wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and lift up the shield of faith which is "able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked," the Lord promised to help me overcome (Ephesians 6:16).


Doctors and counselors played a role in my healing process. Ultimately, it was the word of God that restored my hope and joy. Once I was able to identify my stronghold, feeling unloved, and recognize the lie I was believing, God allowed something bad to happen to me therefore He doesn't love me, I was able to replace the lie with God's truth. I'm assured of God's love for me in the book of Romans, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (5:8). When I chose to believe that God truly loved me and began living like the person of value He created me to be, the chains that imprisoned me were loosed and I could walk away from my stronghold.


I can fully relate to Paul Bunyan's character, Christian, in his timeless classic, Pilgrim's Progress, "What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle. Then said Hopeful, That is good news; good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom, and try. Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon-door, whose bolt, as he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out."


Once we're set free from a stronghold, we have a choice to make: do we walk in the truth, or when difficulty strikes do we revert back to the lie? In Galatians 5:1 we're encouraged to, "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." God's plan for us is to live in the liberty of Christ. Secure in His love and trusting that those things He allows to come into our lives are ultimately for our good and His glory.


Are you wrestling with a stronghold? Replace any lies you've believed with the truth of God's word. Use your newly found 'key' of truth to open the gates of 'Doubting Castle.' Take a step of faith and return to the Master's path for your life! You'll be glad you did!

17 comments:

  1. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, even those that serve the Lord. You know, 'it rains on the just as well as the unjust'. Yet God remains faithful and helps us to understand that He allowed it so that He could strengthen our character and increase our faith. I'm sorry you had that accident but I'm happy you received deliverance from the stronghold and with it had a revelation. xo

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  2. A wonderful devotion to start off my morning. Thank you!

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  3. Maria, Oh what a beautiful, inspiring post. There have been times when I have felt like, "Where are you God?" But I know that just because I'm a Christian, that doesn't mean I won't have troubles.

    Just look at all Paul went through. I love that I am saved. I want to run the race well for my Lord. :)

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  4. Ellie - God IS so faithful! Oftentimes, when we're going through the valley we just want to get through it...I was so intent on being 'delivered' from my trial that I almost missed the Deliverer! I'm thankful that through this experience I got to know Him better!

    Deborah - Glad the Lord could use it to inspire you! God bless!

    Robyn - I'm glad we have examples like Paul, who help us put things into perspective! I'm sure you face many challenges with Christopher's condition and I'm inspired by your 'race!' May God richly bless you!

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  5. Hey, Maria! This is so important! I've been learning a lot about protecting my mind. It's HUGE to do this!

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  6. Hi Maria. Thanks for directing my thoughts to the Deliverer. Such a timely and inspiring message. I love being encouraged by your words.
    Happy Birthday to you, too. I hope your day is filled with good friends and lots of fun!

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  7. Kristen - You're so right! In the morning I pray the verse from 2 Cor. 10:5 and Phil. 4:8 so I can actually be aware of what I'm thinking! God bless you!

    Dorothy - God IS good isn't He?! Glad this post could be an encouragement! Thanks for the birthday wishes!!

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  8. Everyday God reminds me of His faithfulness. I may not be exempt from tragedy, but I am never alone.

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  9. Tamika - He is so faithful! And what an encouragement to know that we are not alone! Have a blessed day!

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  10. The mind surely is our battleground in so many ways. Thankfully we have a big God and so many faithful promises to overcome these strongholds. Thanks so much for sharing this; it was a timely message:)

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  11. Karen - Glad the Lord could use it in your life! It is pretty amazing that God's word provides us with everything we need to be victorious in this life! Praise His name!

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  12. Your posts are always so insightful, inspiring and encouraging. That's why I nominated you for the Kreative Blogger award over on my blog today. Keep up the great work!

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  13. Lynda - Thank you so much!! Praise the Lord that my posts are inspiring and encouraging to you! God bless you abundantly! I appreciate you!

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  14. It's easy to think God doesn't love us when bad things happen to us. But it's just a result of an imperfect world. Thanks for the reminder. Have a great weekend!

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  15. Jill - You're right! Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of that. Enjoy your weekend!! :)

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  16. Maria,

    I just came across you blog for the first time today. So glad to have discovered it! I use to struggle all the time with the very stronghold that you have described. It was so hard to get rid of the old "tapes" of condemnation that kept playing in my mind that I grew up listening to, but praise God that we have victory through Christ and that he can set us free!

    God bless. i look forward to reading your blog posts!

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  17. Michelle - Welcome! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your kind words of encouragement! Praise the Lord that He IS able to overcome any stronghold - "...greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world"(1 John 4:4, KJV).

    Blessings to you!

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