Have you ever been in a place in life where everything seems to be falling apart? Jamila felt there was no hope. Even though her name means “beautiful,” she did not feel beautiful. In fact, she felt just the opposite. She was stuck in a toxic relationship, with no money and a new baby. Negativity exists in some form in everyone’s life at different times. It can keep people from achieving hope and spiritual fulfillment. Jamila needed a breakthrough. When a breakthrough is impending, there will be a purging process that will clear out hopelessness, defeat, and negative thinking. God can and will work with you to eliminate toxic relationships, habits, and things that influence you negatively. These negative factors are from the enemy and distract you from hearing and achieving your purpose in life. The goal is to remove negative influences and to create space for positive thinking, freedom, and fulfillment.
What is a breakthrough?
A breakthrough is that moment when frustration, struggles, fear, worry, or anxiety disappears. It’s a moment of insight, recognition about who you are, what you’re called to do and how to achieve a purposeful life. To understand breakthrough and why it is important we must define what is a stronghold. We are at war with evil. The battlefield we face is in our minds. The enemy introduces thoughts within us to keep us in bondage and to prevent us from knowing God and doing His will. The thoughts the devil implants within us argue against truth and try to create barriers to knowing God and form strongholds. We must take these thoughts captive for a breakthrough.
What is a stronghold?
A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern that has molded itself into our way of thinking. These strongholds have the capability to affect our feelings, how we respond to various situations in life and they play a large role in our spiritual freedom. Strongholds are built upon deception and error. These errors and deceptions which form strongholds can come from a wide variety of sources, including our environment, those around us, our parents or even demon spirits. Jamila was rejected by her partner and unknowingly formed a stronghold of fear, hopelessness, and anxiety.
How do we tear down strongholds?
Since strongholds are built upon error and falsehood, it is through the truth that you tear down such faulty thinking patterns. Strongholds are built when we accept and receive error and begin to meditate on them; such as: fear, depression, bad attitude, cursing, lying, stress, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, resentment, etc. It forms in our minds what is known as an imagination, that is, a false concept that we believe to be true, but in reality, is not.
How do we renew our minds?
These strongholds must be cast down through the renewing of our minds. “Be not conformed to this world: but transformed by the renewing of your mind…”, Romans 12:2. Our minds are renewed by recognizing wrong thought patterns, repenting and renouncing any agreement we made knowingly or unknowingly.
Confession: I confess that wrong thoughts are warring in my mind to keep me from knowing God and experiencing His best for my life. I repent and renounce every negative thought I have agreed with and choose to change my thinking.
Prayer: Father, I ask that you reveal every stronghold in my thinking and speaking. If there is anything separating me from You or my purpose, I will take authority and repent and renounce any agreement. I choose to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and to think on the things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, and productive. Give me grace for every battle and lead me to the truth of Your Word. Thank you for loving me, forgiving me, and giving me the keys to freedom to live an abundant life, in Jesus Name. Amen.