“The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they
have divine power to demolish strongholds.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4
One of
the great discoveries I made in later years in my walk with God has to do with
living in victory over generational strongholds. The Bible speaks of punishing
the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations.
(See Exodus 20:5.) The only way out of living under the curses of generational
strongholds is to acknowledge them before the Father and repent of their reign
in our lives. This breaks the curse’s future effects.
A
stronghold is a fortress of thoughts that controls and influences our
attitudes. They color how we view certain situations, circumstances, or people.
When these thoughts and activities become habitual, we allow a spiritual
fortress to be built around us. We become so used to responding to the “voice”
of that spirit, that its abode in us is secure. All of this happens on a
subconscious level.
As a
businessman, I discovered that I had been influenced by a generational
stronghold of insecurity and fear that was manifested in control. This
subconscious fear motivated me to become a workaholic, to seek recognition
through activities, to control others’ behavior to avoid failure, and to have a
relationship with God that was activity-based instead of relationally-based.
One day God brought about a number of catastrophic events that forced me to
look at what was behind these events. I found that the influence of these
strongholds was at the core of these symptoms. The Bible speaks of this war on
our souls.
For
though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of
God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we
will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is
complete (2 Corinthians 10:3,5-6).
The steps
to freedom for me came when someone shared that these were sins that I was
harboring, and in order to walk free of their influence, I needed to repent of
them. It was through the power of the cross that I no longer needed to be
subjugated by their presence. Once I took this step, I began to walk free of
their influences. Besides salvation, this became the most important discovery
in my entire Christian walk. My relationship to Christ changed immediately. I
began to hear God’s voice. I began to trust Christ in areas I never thought
possible. I could truly experience the love of Christ for the first time.
This
knowledge helped me in business as well. One day I was in the middle of a
contract negotiation with another Christian businessman. A lawyer had jumped in
the middle of the negotiation. My friend began to surface many old feelings
that were a source of pain from his past. When I perceived that a stronghold of
insecurity and fear was at the core of his response, I interrupted his
argumentative discussion with me and said with a very forceful tone, “I am no
longer going to listen to the spirit of insecurity that is speaking through you
right now! If you don’t refrain from this, I am going to leave!” My friend was
taken back. He looked at me quite startled. After a few moments, he agreed with
my diagnosis. We talked through what he was feeling and completed our
negotiation without further incident.
What are
the true motivations of your heart? Have you ever looked deeply at these
motivations? You might find that these subconscious motivations may be
preventing you from experiencing the fullness of Christ in your life. Ask Him
to reveal these and then repent of their influences.
