For much of my adult life, I have had the habit, whenever I had a setback or made a mistake or even remembered a mistake I had made, of repeating a series of self-deprecating statements to myself. They seemed to take over my mental space and repeated themselves hundreds of times in the course of the day. Some days that burden of repeating those thoughts submerged me into a puddle of depression and squeezed out any productive work.

           I just accepted it as a part or me – It was just what I did under certain circumstances. Until I was meditating on this verse:

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ 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. 2 Corinthians:10:3-5 (NIV)

              Understanding that a stronghold in the New Testament is a spiritual concept: deeply entrenched; deceptive thought patterns, lies, or habits (like pride, unforgiveness, lust) that exalt themselves against God’s knowledge, creating mental and spiritual prisons people can’t break in their own strength, needing divine power to demolish them. (1)

           It occurred to me that my self-deprecating mantra was a stronghold! It had its inception by way of a demonic influence. If so, then I could ‘demolish it.”  But how? The passage indicates that we already have the weapon to demolish it. There was a clue in the verse, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

           So, it has to do with our mental abilities to control every thought. I was reminded of this verse: 

           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 (NIV)

           So, I determined to substitute a passage of God’s word every time I felt that demonic mantra coming on. I settled on:

                      Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is    pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think        about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—    put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

                 If I was going to think about what was “true, noble, etc.,” I needed to identify some things that met each criterion. I made a list and decided to populate it with things that met that label. In that way, I would have the necessary fodder to think about.

           Working through that exercise, I came up with Jesus, for every descriptor. So, I determined to think, methodically and intentionally, about Jesus.

           But what would that look like?

           I went to the Gospel of Luke, and read a scene – not a chapter, but a scene where Jeus was described. I began with the 40 days temptation, and then went on to him teaching in his local synagogue, from there to telling Peter to cast his nets on the other side of the boat, etc.

           Now, I had the fodder to “think about what is good, noble, etc.” I began, several times a day, to stop and picture one of those scenes, and reflect on what it told me about Jesus.

           I have not had a recurrence of the negative mantra since. I have, at least for now, demolished a stronghold. I am more at peace and more productive as a result.

           My plan is to repeat this process until all the strongholds that I have been nurturing are demolished.

           If I can do it, what about you?

           Suppose that you have strongholds that are weakening you, distracting you and leaving you in a negative frame of mind. What if you have not had the success that you believe the Lord has for you due to the impact of the strongholds in your life?

           Could you not identify those strongholds and methodically and intentionally demolish them? And would that not free you to exercise the gifts and abilities that you have to unleash the Lord’s potential for you, your career, and your business?

           Demolishing the strongholds in your life may be the most powerful thing you can do to unleash the potential within you.

Notes:

(1) Google AI in response to “What is the Biblical definition of a stronghold?,” on 1/7/26.

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