Better than a dream vacation, or a bucket-list trip to one of the world’s Seven Wonders, God is calling each of us to a divine destination. Our good God desires that we would arrive at a place of empowerment, love, joy, and peace. Arrival at this divine destination requires more than mere intentions on our part. The journey to get where God is leading us requires that we have a sound mind. We must set our minds on the way of the Holy Spirit, and not on the lies that Satan wants us to believe. If we allow our minds to wander on this journey, we are far more likely to get lost. Or worse, the lies of Satan can trap and imprison us in strongholds, mindsets of hopelessness that lead to toxic and destructive patterns of behavior. But because of God’s goodness, he is always ready to reroute us to the right way. When the Apostle Paul taught the first churches in history, he emphasized that we must allow only God to be the greatest influence over our minds. We let God influence our minds by learning and trusting the truth of his word, and obeying his commands. This is the journey of freedom from strongholds, the journey of a sound mind, open to all the blessings God desires for us.

A mind that is not influenced by God’s truths is controlled by Satan’s lies.

1. Repentance

If you want to tear down strongholds in your life, repentance is the first step. Repentance is not just feeling remorseful or confessing, but truly committing to follow Jesus and his plan for your life. When we turn from sin and choose to lean into the grace of God, we can lay down our guilt and walk in freedom.

2.  Reliance

Oftentimes we rely on earthly things, ourselves, our jobs or even other people. That’s why we have a hard time defeating strongholds, because we think we are strong by ourselves. In reality we are weak and we need to rely on God, remaining humble and submitting ourselves to him.

Everyone has experienced the feeling of misplacing something and forgetting where they set it. You go crazy trying to look for it. Our mind can feel the same when we get lost in life. Jesus reminds you it was never lost, we simply forgot where we set it. However, when you turn towards Jesus, a light will illuminate your pathway and redirect you. God's grace is sufficient in your weakness. By remembering our position in Christ as children of God, we can feel confident in our journey through life.