Did you know that not every thought is your thought? Something God has been giving me the grace for, is to be more observant of my thoughts. In a season of slowing down and less distractions, I am more aware of myself and of my thoughts.
Something I’m learning more about are strongholds vs intrusive thoughts. Have you ever noticed you are doing something normal and then an intrusive thought comes out of nowhere and hits your brain and now you are distracted, worried, fearful, lustful, etc? This falls under an intrusive thought from the enemy and is a spiritual attack and whispers of the enemy to try to distract, disrupt or tempt us into sin.
The Enemy tries to distract, disrupt and tempt us into sin.
We’ve often believed these were our own thoughts and followed the feeling or felt shame and unsure why we were thinking this way. These are not our thoughts.
The Bible says we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). And as believers with the help of the Holy Spirit, the freedom Jesus died for us to have is the freedom to say no to the thoughts and not give into them – even if the feeling or thoughts feel strong. This doesn’t always mean we can do it on our own, but we have a Helper who can and wants to help us overcome these things.
“We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin” (AMP). – Romans 6:6
Now let’s look at strongholds. These are more related to negative thought patterns or bad habits.
I’ll share my experience. I have lived in a constant state of anxiety and trauma for a while now. With this, I desire a sense of peace and safety. There have been some days where the anxiety isn’t as loud or strong as it normally is or I’m used to. This should be a blessing, but I noticed myself not able to fully enjoy the peace or rest.
My guard was still up because I was so used to expecting something to come around the corner or worried that if I let my guard down, then something would happen because I wasn’t prepared. So there might not have been a spiritual attack happening, but my mind was so on edge waiting and expecting something that I didn’t enjoy the peace and rest or would cause myself to overthink and go back into a cycle of anxious thinking.
Also, this can relate to triggers. Let’s say you see or hear something and it leads to a thought, and then triggers your mind to spiral towards fear, lust, worry, etc. This may not be something you wanted to spiral into, but the trigger pulled you towards sinful thinking or actions. If this happens often, there may be a stronghold that needs to be healed. This can be done through therapy, prayer, finding a mentor or accountability partner, or seeking God to help you get to the root.
Do the thoughts feel tempting at times? Of course. Do the feelings always go away immediately? Not always. But Romans 6:6 says we are no longer slaves to sin.
Below are tools of how we can combat these spiritual attacks from the enemy that are trying to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10).
1. Renew Your Mind Daily
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2
- Continue to seek God daily by spending time in the word. Also, find verses that fit your struggle and ponder on it, read it, memorize it.
- This helps to replace lies we’ve believed for so long with God’s truth.
2. Put on the Armor of God
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” – Ephesians 6:12-17
- It’s not just about saying you put on the armor of God, but it’s thinking like Christ (helmet), living like Christ (breastplate), knowing the truth (belt), walking like Christ and sharing the truth with others (shoes), believing in Christ and that truth (shield), speaking the truth and about Christ (sword).
- As we practice this daily and live this way, it renews our minds and we grow in sanctification.
3. Submit to God and Resist the Devil
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7
- Resist by denying your flesh. You may have a strong desire to do that thing. But choosing not to, even against the loudness of the flesh. We have to be submitted to God first, before we can resist.
- This may be too hard for us to do on our own, and is where we need to depend on God for strength and help to overcome. [This is not weakness, but it’s surrender. And true strength is acknowledging our weakness and need for God and letting His power help us].
4. Take the Thought Captive
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full.” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
- Instead of pushing the thought away (because often, undealt with, it makes its way back around) look at it. Observe the thought. Question it. Does it go against scripture? Does it go against what God wants for me or how He has called me to live? If so, then this is not God’s voice, but the voice of the enemy.
- Prayer: “Lord, this thought is not a thought I want to have. I take it captive, and put it in obedience to your word. My choice and will is to honor you with my thoughts and actions and this thought has to submit to my choice and to your word. I lay it at the feet of the cross, and I fix my mind on things above, on what is true, what is right, what is noble, what is pure (Philippians 4:8). In Jesus name, amen.”
5. Seek Counseling
Sometimes these tools don’t feel like they are working. Often there is a deeper wound that needs healing. We can get so focused on trying to address the symptoms (fear, anger, lust, etc), but there may be a deeper root of why these thoughts are lingering or finding a foothold and keep coming back.
What helped me when I noticed this in my journey was when I started going to Christian counseling. They have gently walked me through healing to recognize wounds I had that I didn’t realize were affecting me still and to find peace and forgiveness for myself and others.
I am still in this process, but I already see the power in naming and recognizing wounds, losses, contradictions to your expectations, and having a trained professional walk me through these hard topics.
I feel more equipped to deal with intrusive thoughts, because I am starting to discern the lies of the enemy and what he is whispering vs the truth of God’s word, my identity in Christ and how I see myself through that lens.
It’s something I’m practicing daily, but one example is shame. As I was able to talk through an event that happened that I didn’t realize I felt shame about, I was able to grieve it and allow myself to feel and process those emotions and find peace with it and release it to God. There is freedom in that.
So when the enemy tries to bring reminders of that to try to get me back into that place of shame, previously, I would have believed it as truth and fallen into the spiral. Now, I can start saying, no, that is not God’s voice. He forgives me and I forgive myself. The Lord has already removed this sin as far as the east from the west (Psalm 103:12) so I give this to God because it’s not the truth. And I have more confidence as I practice this. But I had to deal with the wound, because there was a lie I was believing about myself (whether I realized it or not), and now the lie is being crushed.
I’m still learning about spiritual warfare and know this is not an extensive list. Please share below if you have found other biblical tools that are helpful to you with overcoming strongholds.
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