Have you ever thought bad things about yourself, a situation that seems to be never-ending or life in general? We all have had those thoughts before as we are human and go through a lot in life! This world isn’t an easy place to live.
[2Co 10:3-5 NLT] [3] We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. [4] We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. [5] We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
A stronghold is any thought we are convinced is the truth but goes against what God has said is true. Here are just a few examples:
- My life doesn’t matter and I would be better off dead
- I can’t go to God because I don’t have my life together and am not following his word
- My sin is so much worse than my peers sin
- God doesn’t care about me because I am not serving in some way
Please know God loves you very much and wants nothing more than for you to have a relationship with him! There is no need to “clean up” before coming to him; he wants you to come as you are!
[Rom 8:1-3 NLT] [1] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. [3] The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
The 10 commandments and the sermon on the mount show us that we fall short of God’s glory everyday which is why he sent his only son, Jesus, who is God in the flesh to be the ultimate sacrifice for all sins past and present. To God, sin is sin which is just missing his standard, but it is more than the 10 commandments as he looks at the heart.
[Mat 5:21-22, 27-28 NLT] [21] “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ [22] But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. … [27] “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ [28] But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
A really good example of God’s love and grace is in the story of the woman at the well: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204&version=NLT
My prayer is that you come to know how much God loves and what exactly he thinks of you because once you understand his love it makes it easier to overcome the stongholds you have believed for so long. We need to feed our souls with his goodness by reading his word and being around other believers in a church community.