E31: Breaking Strongholds

Today, we finish the series 5 Worthy Transformations as we talk about Breaking Strongholds. If you have begged, pleaded, and prayed for deliverance from a stronghold in your life, this is for you. Discover a path to shattering the limiting strongholds of ingrained thoughts, behaviors, and emotional patterns in your life. 

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Discover ways to work with me at www.thehappiestlives.com or www.myhappyvault.com
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Transcript

Breaking Strongholds

Speaker 1 0:00

You're listening to the Happiest Lives podcast with Jill Lillard , episode number 31 . Welcome to the Happiest Lives podcast , where you'll learn to think better , feel better and become the woman God says you already are . Here's your host , jill Lillard . Hello and a warm welcome from the Happiest Lives podcast . It's always a joy to have you here , eager to learn , grow and be inspired , and , as always , it's my privilege to be your counselor and coach for a few minutes each week . So thank you for allowing me to be on your playlist .

Speaker 1 0:36

Today we will complete the series Five Worthy Transformations , where I'm giving you a sneak peek inside the Happiest Lives Academy and the five transformations awaiting you starting January 1 . In this episode , we are going to explore this final transformation offered in the program Breaking Strongholds . If you want to join me in the academy , now is the time to enroll . I'm going to be taking a small group of women through these five transformations , surrounding you with everything you need to succeed , including weekly coaching . I will be with you every step of the way . I'm getting ready to snail mail some fun packages for those scheduled to join me in January , and I hope I can send one out to you too . Now I know this program is not inexpensive . In fact , it is the most expensive program I offer because it is so very involved , as I put so much into and offer so much of myself to you on a daily basis . And I know this program is not for everyone . Not everyone is ready to make that sort of investment in themselves , but this is for some of you . You may be one of those sub ones If you are so ready for change , you're ready to do the work , you're ready to use all the supports offered to you , and maybe you just don't know how to do it . You don't know how to create the change . You don't know how to apply the things that you have learned , that you have learned . But you know you are tired of as is and you want to inject your life with some inspiration and motivation and want some help along the way . Then this is for you . And if you're not in a place to commit to this journey , that's okay too . We can keep hanging out on this podcast every week , which is completely free . You also might consider getting supported and coached inside my cost effective coaching program , clarity and Courage , which does offer you support , even though it's on a much less intensive level . That may be where you are right now . So let's get started , as we overview , breaking strongholds .

Speaker 1 3:04

Strongholds are deeply ingrained thoughts , behaviors or emotional patterns that have been repeated over and over . The neural pathway in your brain is like a trail in the woods that we've discussed before . The patterns seem so established and entrenched that you keep finding yourself on this same path . When discussing strongholds , we often think of the thoughts and habits that limit or negatively influence our lives . These strongholds can hinder our relationships , personal growth , our emotional well-being , our spiritual progress . We feel bound by them .

Speaker 1 3:49

I also want you to consider , though , another type of stronghold . In Psalms 18 , 2 , we read the Lord is my rock , my fortress and my deliverer . My God is my rock in whom I take refuge , my shield and the horn of my salvation , my stronghold . Proverbs 18 , 10, . The name of the Lord is a fortified tower . The righteous run to it and are safe . Psalms 91 , 2 , I will say of the Lord . He is my refuge and my fortress , my God in whom I trust . In Psalms 144 , 2 , he is my loving God and my fortress , my stronghold and my deliverer , my shield in whom I take refuge , who subdues peoples under me Rather than holding you hostage . Here we read of a stronghold that brings freedom .

Speaker 1 4:45

When the Lord becomes your stronghold , you find a place of protection and deliverance . In ancient times , a stronghold was designed to resist enemy attacks . It might be a hill , a rocky outcrop , a fortified wall that was created to be a place of refuge , safety and defense . During a battle , the stronghold of refuge often became a stronghold for the enemy , so people would retreat to this stronghold for safety , but then the opposing force was so strong that this safe place became a prison , as the enemy surrounded it and cut off communication and supplies . Though large fortified walls are not as relevant in our present culture , this concept helps us to better understand spiritual , mental and emotional strongholds . When we make the elements of this world our place of refuge , that very spot designed for protection may ensnare us . So the idols that you turn to when you experience unwanted feelings , those can become strongholds . You thought they would help you feel better , but in the end they imprison you . We are always let down when we explicitly trust carnal resources to improve things . God wants to be your stronghold , offering protection , strength , guidance , comfort , deliverance , security . He wants to be a sure foundation in your life . He invites us to find refuge and strength . Through trusting Him , by obeying Him , we can find this place of refuge in His unwavering love and presence .

Speaker 1 6:32

So you may say that you have been a Christian your whole life , that you've sought the Lord regarding a particular stronghold in your life , and yet you feel entrapped and imprisoned by a certain mindset , an emotional trap , maybe a physiological stronghold . Maybe it's to a habit that you keep doing , over and over actions you keep taking . It may feel like a sort of dependency . It seems others are walking in the freedom of knowing Jesus , but you feel so trapped by your past . You feel shame for choices you keep making over and over . Maybe you feel discouraged by ongoing depression , anxiety or sickness in your body . Your marriage feels miserable and no matter what you do , you just don't see things changing . Now we will face hardships and difficulties , but we can be encouraged because his grace is always sufficient . Always His power is made perfect in our weakness . God has promised to strengthen you and to help you . He has promised to uphold you and deliver you from your troubles . He is close to the brokenhearted . He saves those who are crushed in spirit . He hears your cries , in the words of Isaiah .

Speaker 1 8:05

I encourage you to forget the former things not to dwell on the past , but rather to look ahead to the new things God wants to do . He is making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland . He promises you a new beginning . The past does not define your future . And yet how many of us keep wandering around in the wilderness looking at the past , romanticizing the past , a place of slavery , romanticizing it , thinking it was better , even though we wanted to be delivered from that , because we don't want to obey what God is calling us to do now ? I encourage you to keep turning toward Jesus , day after day . That is the process . Ask him to create a pure heart in you daily . Ask him to search your heart , renew your mind , and he will fulfill his promises in your life as you turn toward him . He has plans for you . He wants you to prosper and thrive . He wants to be your strong tower in place of safety , even if your mind keeps wanting to return to the past .

Speaker 1 9:16

If we want to break strongholds that bind us , we must fully surrender to God . Now . We're not surrendering to our circumstance or to our sin . We are yielding to a powerful God who loves us and is faithful . So to surrender is to let go of what you can't control . Let go of what you've been holding onto and trust the Lord to take care of you . Surrendering is getting your mind , your will and your emotions in step with the spirit , removing any barriers to what stands in the way of his spirit moving . That can be unforgiveness , resentment , bitterness , thoughts about the past , thoughts of how people should be behaving right now , self-focus preoccupation with yourself .

Breaking Strongholds

Speaker 1 10:12

So how many of us have prayed , pleaded and begged for God to break a stronghold in our lives and yet we have not done what he has asked us to do ? Sometimes we're holding onto our idol , our pain , our familiar thing , all the while we are crying out to God to deliver us . When we're looking backward or holding onto today rather than obeying God , throwing off all that hinders running the grace set before us . When we are doing that , we cannot move into the new . To break a stronghold , we must fully surrender to the work of Christ . This is the key for our deliverance and this is the process that we are engaged in during our lives here on earth . We are engaged in a relationship with him as we face the trials , as we face the weeds and the thorns . We want to constantly be engaging with our deliverer .

Speaker 1 11:09

In the previous series the Heart Scan process I talked about the sea of suffering and surrender . This is the place in between , where you are and where you want to be , and that is where we want to be , willing to step into the middle , the uncomfortable . We want to struggle a little bit . We want to move into the struggle . We want to move into the suffering and release that struggle so that we can surrender . This is taking action and letting go , and it starts with a willingness .

Speaker 1 11:40

So it can be hard to let go of old habits and past offenses . It can be hard to give up what satisfies our ego . We worry about the pain we will experience when we stop doing things like we always have , though we may worry that our efforts to change and surrender will fall short , or that we may not want it enough or do it right . We may worry that we could fall flat on our face in failure and not finish the race we started . We can be encouraged because Philippians 2.13 reminds us that God works in us , both to will and to do what pleases Him . He dwells in us and he is working to complete this process of surrender . So if you ever worry that you won't surrender right or your efforts or your desires won't be enough . Remember that God promises to do the work within us . He does the work . We just have to be willing . He will not force Himself on us , but we must participate in our deliverance . He invites us to participate . So we have to take some action so that he can do the work . So sometimes you are going to doubt and lack determination to fight the battle . But even in your weakness God will work . In fact , when we are weak , that is when he really likes to show off the most , because we get out of the way .

Speaker 1 13:06

Even Jesus came to a point of despair and brokenness as he cried out to God in Gethsemane . He felt forsaken by His Father , but he continued to trust in Him , to turn toward Him , to yield to His power , to trust and obey . He was willing and in His desperation he walked through His fear . He walked through His weakness , keeping His eyes on the prize before Him . We can get so consumed and concerned with ourselves . This is the stronghold of self and ego . We think we must be self-sufficient , self-competent , self-directed , and yet this is part of the process of letting go of this to die to our own ego .

Speaker 1 13:52

We may go through periods of waiting because God is doing a work in us , behind the scenes . In fact , to wait means to bind together . He is binding our hearts to His as we wait on Him and turn toward Him in our despair and weakness . Waiting is not a passive place . It is an active place . A lot of work is happening in the waiting . God is reminding us that we need Him . We are not meant to be self-reliant . He wants to partner with us . He does the work dwelling in us , and sometimes we have to get out of the way . We have to be willing to let Him move through us . When we become occupied with Jesus and less with ourselves , then he becomes our stronghold . You don't have to be perfect , you don't have to want it more or work harder . You just have to be willing to surrender . When we do , when we are willing to trust and obey Him , we will abide with Him , we will stay in His Word , we will turn toward Him , we will walk in obedience . We are then positioning ourselves to let Him work . We are waiting on Him and he's binding our heart to His . We can press on and let go .

Speaker 1 15:11

I love that prayer a friend introduced me to Father your will , your way , your time . This is a prayer of surrender . It is a prayer that breaks strongholds . I'm so thankful that God enables me to carry out this surrender as I submit to him with childlike trust , as I obey him and come to him in my weakness , as I am patient and wait upon him . He waits upon me . Steady , consistent surrender , turning toward pressing on letting go , willing to step off the shorelines of the familiar sin and sea of struggle where I surrender to my father . That is the only way to freedom .

Speaker 1 15:53

So , to break strongholds , we must first name and acknowledge the stronghold . What is it ? What is the thought , what is the feeling ? What are the actions you feel imprisoned by ? Next , seek God's guidance through prayer . What is his promise ? What is he asking you to do ? Invite him to search your heart and show you any offensive ways that you're walking in , that's , any rebellion and disobedience . And as you ask for his forgiveness and help , he will show you what is good and right . Remember , this is a relationship with the Lord . It's not a one and done thing . We will go through seasons of planting and the seasons of harvest . All of the seasons are essential to create a harvest . Make sure you surround yourself with support and encouragement . You are not alone on this journey called life . We are part of one body where Christ is the head , and we can support and encourage and build up one another .

Speaker 1 16:54

Romans 7 reminds us that in our flesh there dwells no good thing and nothing will help us , but another life that must come and live inside us . Denying self-will , self-sufficiency and ego is required to make room for the Holy Spirit to work . This is your daily practice laying down yourself and making room for him to work in you . The power of the living God to dwell inside of you and to do his work . The power is found in his spirit dwelling inside of us . It is not found in our flesh . Second Corinthians 10 says for though we live in this world , we do not wage war as the world does . Weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world . On the contrary , they have divine power to demolish strongholds . Use your spiritual weapons . He has given you battle weapons . If you want to break strongholds , don't need me , you need Jesus . However , the Lord can use whatever avenue he wants to bring deliverance . Throughout the Bible , god asks groups of people , he asks individuals to demonstrate their trust and faith in him by taking specific actions or steps .

Speaker 1 18:12

Many instances of healing in the Bible involved individuals demonstrating their faith and trust in God's power to heal by obeying his instructions . Second Kings five illustrates how Elijah instructed Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of his leprosy . Not just one time , seven times . And Naaman obeyed . He followed the instructions and he was delivered from the stronghold . In John nine , jesus spat on the ground and rubbed a mixture of mud and saliva on a blind man's eyes . He then instructed him to go wash in the pool of Salom . Other times , deliverance was associated with repentance from sin and seeking forgiveness . Turning away from sinful behavior and seeking God's forgiveness was seen as a path to deliverance .

Engaging With God for Deliverance

Speaker 1 19:03

Though God does the work , in His Word he instructs us to seek the prayers of others , as we read in James 5 , 14 through 15 . If anyone among you is sick , let him call on the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil In the name of the Lord . In the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well , the Lord will raise him up . So the Lord makes him well , the Lord raises him up . But he invites us to engage . He gives us a process . He gives us actions that we must take to demonstrate our faith In the battle of Jericho . God instructs the Israelites to march around the walls of Jericho seven days . Following their obedience , the Lord fulfilled His promise and the walls of Jericho fell down . They were delivered from this stronghold . Though God is our deliverer , we see that our actions play a role in our deliverance . The Lord shows off His grace and power in many ways . He calls us to engage with Him .

Speaker 1 20:03

Strongholds can encompass physical , emotional , spiritual and relational aspects of a person's life . Keep seeking God's will have faith in His power and he will set you free . Trust in His timing and plan for your life . Thank you , guys , for listening today . I pray you have a blessed week and experience the Lord's power in your life as you keep walking with Him . He is faithful , he is good and he wants to do amazing things in your life . I want to close with this scripture from Isaiah 43 , 18 through 19 , which I referenced earlier , and this really is our declaration inside the Happiest Lives Academy Remember not the former things , nor consider the things of old . Behold , I am doing a new thing . Now it springs forth . Do you not perceive it I will make . Go away in the wilderness and rivers in the desert . Let God do the new thing he wants to do Get out of the way , quit wandering around in the wilderness and disobedience and trust in Him , turn toward Him , wait on you , he is working , he is moving .