Freedom in Christ Course
Devotion
When strongholds become entrenched 27 March 2021
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4)
Once your consideration of a temptation has triggered an emotional response leading to a Plan B choice, you will act upon that choice and own that behaviour. You may resent your actions or claim that you are not responsible for what you do. But you are responsible for your actions at this stage because you failed to take a tempting thought captive when it first appeared at the threshold of your mind.
People who study human behaviour tell us that if you continue to repeat an act for six weeks, you will form a habit. And if you exercise that habit long enough, a stronghold will be established. Once a stronghold of thought and response is entrenched in your mind, choosing to act contrary to that pattern is extremely difficult.
Like environmental stimulation, a stronghold of the mind can be the result of a brief encounter or a prevailing atmosphere. For example, a woman goes into a deep depression every time she hears a siren sound. It turns out that she was raped 20 years earlier while a siren was wailing in the distance. In the weeks and months after the rape, the sound of a siren triggered traumatic memories. Instead of resolving that conflict, she relived the tragedy in her mind, deepening the emotional scars and locking herself into a thought pattern she cannot seem to break. That's a stronghold.
Other strongholds are the result of a prevailing pattern of thinking and responding. Imagine, for instance, a nine-year-old child whose father is an alcoholic. When the father comes home drunk and belligerent every night, the child is simply scared stiff of him. They scurry out of sight and hide. As the child continues in their defensive reaction to their hostile alcoholic father, they form a pattern of behaviour. Ten years later, when they faces any kind of hostile behaviour, how do you think they will respond? They will run away. The deeply ingrained pattern of thinking and responding has formed a stronghold in their mind.
Father, don't allow the enemy to deceive me into weak-willed actions that dilute my testimony and effectiveness as a believer.
Neil Anderson
Devotion
When strongholds become entrenched 27 March 2021
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4)
Once your consideration of a temptation has triggered an emotional response leading to a Plan B choice, you will act upon that choice and own that behaviour. You may resent your actions or claim that you are not responsible for what you do. But you are responsible for your actions at this stage because you failed to take a tempting thought captive when it first appeared at the threshold of your mind.
People who study human behaviour tell us that if you continue to repeat an act for six weeks, you will form a habit. And if you exercise that habit long enough, a stronghold will be established. Once a stronghold of thought and response is entrenched in your mind, choosing to act contrary to that pattern is extremely difficult.
Like environmental stimulation, a stronghold of the mind can be the result of a brief encounter or a prevailing atmosphere. For example, a woman goes into a deep depression every time she hears a siren sound. It turns out that she was raped 20 years earlier while a siren was wailing in the distance. In the weeks and months after the rape, the sound of a siren triggered traumatic memories. Instead of resolving that conflict, she relived the tragedy in her mind, deepening the emotional scars and locking herself into a thought pattern she cannot seem to break. That's a stronghold.
Other strongholds are the result of a prevailing pattern of thinking and responding. Imagine, for instance, a nine-year-old child whose father is an alcoholic. When the father comes home drunk and belligerent every night, the child is simply scared stiff of him. They scurry out of sight and hide. As the child continues in their defensive reaction to their hostile alcoholic father, they form a pattern of behaviour. Ten years later, when they faces any kind of hostile behaviour, how do you think they will respond? They will run away. The deeply ingrained pattern of thinking and responding has formed a stronghold in their mind.
Father, don't allow the enemy to deceive me into weak-willed actions that dilute my testimony and effectiveness as a believer.
Neil Anderson