Four-months pregnant with our second child, I was surprised one day when a co-worker unexpectedly shared that she had experienced a miscarriage years prior at the 4-month mark. Pregnancy is a walk of faith in itself, but her words sent what ifs racing through my mind faster than my surging hormones. God, however, was not taken by surprise. A few days later, someone said to me, “I was praying for you and the Lord told me to give you Psalm 8:2 as a Scripture for this baby.” Those words were truly welcomed!
Before choosing his small but mighty band of men by the river (Judges 7:8), sneaking to the enemy’s camp at night (Judges 7:13), and winning the battle with clay pots on the hill of Moreh (Judges 7:19), Gideon came up against the powers of darkness in a formidable venue—the familiar.
When the angel of the Lord addressed Gideon by calling him “mighty hero” ( Judges 6:12), Gideon’s first question was neither how nor when. Rather, he asked, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13). Eventually he came to realize that God had not abandoned them. He had been true to His Word. God simply wouldn’t be their stronghold if others took His place (Deuteronomy 11:16-17).
Before they could ever be free from their oppressors, the false places of protection had to be destroyed. After pulling down the gods made by human hands, Gideon signified the supremacy of Yahweh by building an altar to the Lord “on the top of [the] stronghold” (Judges 6:26 NASB).
In our distress, God sends His Word. We can either worship at the places of false protection (for me, trying to control by imagining every “what if . . .”), or we can acknowledge that He alone is our strength and stronghold. —Regina Franklin
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Judges 13:1-25
More:
Read Psalm 9:1-10 to see how David celebrated God as his stronghold.
Next:
What strongholds do you find yourself running to for protection? What steps will you need to take in order to tear down any false idols?
jstabel on March 10, 2011 at 2:16 am
Something am good at-always thinking(or rather imagining)ways that GOD should bless when honestly HIS ways are unsearchable. Thanks REGINA.
regina franklin on March 12, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Hmmm. . . good word jstabel. I was just talking over a situation with my husband tonight and sharing with him some things I didn’t understand about how God was working. But this I know and refuse to let go of–He is ALWAYS good and He is ALWAYS just. Blessings!
daisymarygoldr on March 10, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Thanks Regina Franklin, for this powerful post!
Do relate to the struggles with what-ifs that are constantly at war with my mind. There are nights, I lose sleep thinking what if I accidentally rolled over the baby and killed him. Sometimes, I worry thinking what if my husband gets killed on the way back from work. After facing a failure, I try to hide under the false protection of—what if I fall again, get hurt or be ridiculed and rejected. If I don’t take charge, this battle of the mind will continue till the day I die.
Needless to say, stronghold is incorrect thinking built on my imagination. My old flesh nature has a fallen way of thinking, susceptible to the lies and deception of the devil. When I believe these lies it brings me anxiety, worry, guilt, shame, and low self-esteem. It makes me to fear and doubt the goodness of God. Once firmly established, these wrong thoughts pave the way for depression to set in and control my life.
The cure for such depression is to identify and destroy the stronghold that is controlling my life. That means to get out of my head and into my heart and correct the faulty thought patterns. If I don’t, then it will keep me hopelessly defeated in all areas of life—physical, mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual.
Spiritually speaking, strongholds are human reasoning, false arguments, rebellious thoughts and every proud obstacle that keeps us from knowing God (2 Cor 10: 4-5). Paul exhorts us to capture every rebellious thought and make it obedient to Christ.
I must therefore, transform my carnal thinking by renewing my mind and filter every thought through the truth of God’s Word. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s truth demolishes and sets me free from all false strongholds. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him” (Nah 1:7 NKJV).
regina franklin on March 12, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Dear daisymarygoldr,
You reminded us–“Spiritually speaking, strongholds are human reasoning, false arguments, rebellious thoughts and every proud obstacle that keeps us from knowing God (2 Cor 10: 4-5).” When I think about a stronghold, it always come back to asking the question–what am I afraid will happen if I don’t create a safe place for myself. Essentially, it’s a trust issue. I can’t have God’s protection and my own, and either I believe He’s more powerful or I don’t. I love how you outline that it is allowing our minds to be retrained. Those are the battles in the trenches that we often want to avoid. Sometimes, God miraculously transforms the way we see things; other times, He washes us with a daily cleansing in His Word, a choice by choice transformation.