What Is a Demonic Stronghold?

What Is a Demonic Stronghold?

What Is a Demonic Stronghold?

by Toni Weisz/Spiritual Warfare

Scriptures: Psalm 18:2-3, 1 Peter 5:8, John 8:32b-c, and Psalm 91:1-4

Psalm 18:2-3
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies.

Definition of Stronghold: A fortified place or a fortress. An area dominated or occupied by a group or marked by a quality. Taken from The American Heritage College Dictionary.

As I read Psalm 18, it says that God is my stronghold.

We have a choice who we will allow to be our stronghold: God or the evil one.

There are things we do that make us vulnerable to the enemy, which create an opening where he gains a foothold, if not challenged or acknowledged will then become a stronghold.

I have heard a stronghold also referred to as having, “a hook in our soul.” The hook represents a spiritual entry by the evil one, either through unconfessed sin, trauma, abuse, and/or drug and alcohol usage. Once he has access, he lays a snare for us and torments us with lies and deceptions.

Due to the chaos in my home of origin, I learned to hide in my secrets to protect myself. It was my safe place. I could control people’s reactions and protect myself so I thought. I didn’t grow up knowing how to use my voice properly, and I had no boundaries, so you can imagine why hiding in my secrets was my safe place.

For me, my secrets were the area the enemy had a stronghold, a hook in my soul. I started hiding in my secrets at the age of 12 when I started sneaking Scotch Whiskey from my parents’ liquor cabinet. But it didn’t stop there; this sin opened up a door to all kinds of ungodly behavior while outwardly I still appeared to be the “good quiet one” in the family. I strived for perfection in all I did to receive recognition from others. So, hiding in my secrets was important to keep up this façade.

I was living a double life. I had a distorted view of reality because of the torment from the evil one. I hid in my secrets for over three decades. I had a huge hook in me because of my fear of rejection and abandonment. I was afraid if I shared some things people would reject and abandon me or would be harsh and cruel. The fear of that rejection and abandonment caused me to terminate the life of my son.

When I was saved by the grace of God at the age of 34, I still feared the reactions and comments of others, so I told half-truths, but I was still holding back some information. If I am not careful, I can easily go there (withholding information) so as not to hear someone’s cruel and harsh comments. In a way, I felt it was self-preservation. God calls it something else: sin. I should not fear man, but rather fear God.

When I hold back information, I am trying to control the outcome and that is codependency. Instead of trusting God with the results, I am manipulating the situation. I don’t like how this feels. I am uncomfortable, and I feel like I am walking on eggshells. This causes anxiety in me as I imagine how the conversation will go. And I am not doing anything wrong or ungodly, but the evil one has me hiding to get me in this vulnerable place. He is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (Ref. 1 Peter 5:8). He and his minions are continually observing me and watching for my reactions to things. Then he knows he’s got me in his trap.

The best way to combat this is head on. I pray and ask God to go before me to prepare that individual’s heart, and then I ask Him to give me the words to say. For the most part, it goes well, but sometimes it doesn’t. But I am relieved when it is over and I am no longer being tormented about it.

We need discernment when speaking with certain individuals, especially if they are unsafe emotionally. There is a fine line between discernment and waiting for the right time, and withholding information out of fear. The longer I hold onto something, the harder it becomes to share and the bigger it grows and consumes my thoughts; that’s where the hook comes in. Then, of course, the enemy torments me with all kinds of scenarios and possible outcomes. I am robbed of my peace and joy because of my fears.

By confessing my sin to God, He removes the hook. When I seek Him daily, I am protected from the enemy’s attacks. Each morning, I put on my spiritual armor. Confessing sin is part of my daily devotional time with the Lord. I do not want the evil one to gain a foothold, which can turn into a stronghold. Being in the Word of God daily and memorizing Scripture is the best way to protect myself from the evil one. I ask God to remove any blindness so I can see clearly my character defects, my sins, and shortcomings. I ask Him to bring them into the light so I can confess and repent so I can be forgiven and healed.

Jesus said in John 8: 32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” God’s Holy Word is Truth. He is our refuge and our fortress, our stronghold. He is our hiding place, and He is our protector. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. With it, we are able to slash the lies of the enemy in two (Ref. Ephesians 6: b-c). He covers us with His wings so we are protected by the fiery darts of the enemy. We are safe when we stand on the truth and under His mighty wings.

I want the Lord to be my stronghold because I know He will not abuse me; He is gentle, kind, caring, and compassionate. Lord give me the courage to speak up when I need to and not to delay. Help me to trust You more in this area.

Questions to take to heart:

1.) What is an area in your life you need to watch carefully because Satan had a huge hook in you?

Secrets is the area I need to watch carefully. I need to use my voice and share things right away before the enemy has a chance to torment me about things. I need to be more intentional and proactive in this area.

2.) How did God remove that hook?

In February 2010, I was in a very dark place and asked God to take me home because I couldn’t deal with the pain in my life anymore. He asked me if I trusted Him, and I said yes. He then opened a door and I was introduced to a local ministry that dealt with childhood wounds from dysfunctional families. I was a part of an intense inner healing and a high–accountability group for five I worked on adult-child recovery work and journaled every day for five years. I heard from God like never before. I began to trust God more and more. He showed me that having secrets is lying and that lying is a sin. He told me to stop running and hiding, which in essence I was doing by not telling the whole truth. He wants me to be bold and courageous.

3.) How can we pray for you?

Please pray that I will fear God more than man and I will speak up quickly. Pray God gives me the courage to speak the truth and to trust Him.

I pray this topic has been helpful for you. If you need to talk, please reach out to me: toni@myashestobeauty.com.

 

You are loved,
Toni

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Rejection, a Lie of the Devil

Rejection, a Lie of the Devil

Rejection, a Lie of the Devil

by Toni Weisz/Spiritual Warfare
Psalm 27:10, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 24:35, Psalm 147:3

The spiritual warfare I am experiencing lately has heightened, due to me taking on the leadership for my church prayer team since our leaders stepped down a few months ago, and now I am about to start a STS (Surrendering the Secret) study session. I am still in a
wheelchair after my foot surgery about a month ago. So, I would say I am a little vulnerable right now. But I am aware of what the evil one is trying to do. Rejection has always been a huge wound for me from my childhood.

When I feel rejected by my earthly family, I am reminded that my peace and security doesn’t come from money, relationships, or anything else this world has to offer. My peace and security come from knowing God my Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit my constant companion and friend.

So, when the evil one comes to poke my rejection wound, I remind him, “I belong to God.” I was plucked out of my earthly family and placed into the family of God. I am adopted by God. I will never be rejected. I will never be abandoned. I will never walk alone again. “When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take care of me.” (Psalm 27:10)

I am loved by my Heavenly Father, and nothing shall separate me from His love. “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present not things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) What a beautiful promise from God’s Word.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for giving me God’s perspective. It gives me great comfort to know the truth. I pray for my unsaved family members who do not have a relationship with You. They are desperately holding onto things like money, relationships, their physical beauty, a retirement account, or anything that gives them a sense of security. But it will all burn up in the end. The only real thing in this world is a relationship with You, Jesus. Everything else will rust, corrupt, decay and die, but your Word will never pass away. It is eternal. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

Dear one, I pray you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior. He knows what it feels like to be rejected and abandoned. He wants you to surrender all to Him. Stop trying to do things in your own strength. Allow Him to minister to you in all the places in your soul that have been wounded due to trauma from abortion and/or abuse. He comes to bind up the broken hearted and heal all your wounds. (Ref. Psalm 147:3)

Please reach out if you need to talk: toni@myashestobeauty.com.

You are loved,
Toni

 

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Forgiveness—God’s Way

Forgiveness—God’s Way

Forgiveness—God’s Way

By Luci Boudreaux/Spiritual Insights
Scriptures: Matthew 5:44 and Mark 11:25

Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”

Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

 

In my youth, I learned all about the impact of unforgiveness before I ever understood the incredible power and freedom of God’s plan; and that is forgiveness! That is what we will be talking about today.

I have a brother who is two years older and was incredibly mean to me from a very early age. I was an easy target since there was very little supervision in our home. He tormented, made fun of, beat up on and laughed at me regularly. As we grew older, he became more abusive in his behavior. And by age 11, he and another brother began to sexually molest me. I didn’t dare tell anyone because my greatest fear was that no one would believe me, and if they did, I would be blamed somehow. At 12, I was raped by a stranger in the neighborhood and was robbed of my virginity and whatever childhood innocence I had left. I escaped my abusive home environment at the age of 15. And I took my anger, confusion and bitterness with me into every relationship. Unfortunately, I experienced more violations and abuse from strangers out in the world.

The relationships that I did have were very toxic. I was promiscuous and emotionally unavailable. And when I look back on that season of my life, I also chose men who were unhealthy as well. At 24, I became pregnant by a man whose name I can’t remember, as we had just met that one day and I never saw him again. Unfortunately, I chose to abort my baby. And that was a devastating decision that broke me!

But, praise be to God that, approximately nine months later, the Lord revealed His Spirit, His truth, and I was born again! But there were layers of lies and wounds to process and release to the Lord. So, in my childlike obedience, I did the only thing I knew to do. I surrendered all these hurts and atrocities to Jesus, my Savior. I assumed that once I forgave as the Bible teaches, it was behind me. But I was wrong! The emotions of unforgiveness continued to rise up in my heart, as certain situations triggered them.

So I had a decision to make; I could try and bury the memories of the wrongs done to me and forget about them. But the problem with this is, it continues to surface along with the root of bitterness that continues growing inside.

As a follower of Christ, I worked on past wounds that were causing pain, and in that process, I specifically forgave my brother and have been praying for him for decades. But I recently found out that he has cancer and will need surgery. You would think that at once, I would pray for him, but what happened really surprised me! my immediate response was, “I don’t want to pray for him; he’s awful.”

When the thought came to me, I was convicted. So I took it to the Lord, and He began to help me sort through the unforgiveness, again. I realized there was still a remnant of unforgiveness in my heart against him. I had to deal with it!

I am learning that forgiveness is not only a one-time obedient act for the Lord, but it is also an ongoing process that needs to be revisited when it creeps into our hearts.

What I hadn’t been considering was that he came from the same dysfunctional home as me. My father was very harsh and cruel to him and my other brothers. Although he’s never expressed it, I believe he is burdened from past abuse. And from working through this for myself and for so many others, I’ve come to understand that those who have been abused are prone to hurt others in similar ways.

 

Questions to take to heart:

Are you holding onto unforgiveness toward anyone?

How are you working through the process of forgiveness?

Are you finding it hard to forgive some over others?

 

Pastor Bill Elliff shares his perspective:

“Forgiveness is my responsibility as a choice of my will, made possible

by God’s grace, to release a debt, by faith, for the glory of God.”

 

Let’s look at the breakdown of the above statement:

“My responsibility”:
Regardless of what others have done, I am responsible for the sin of my unforgiveness.

“As a choice of my will, made possible by God’s grace”: It is not an act of my emotions but a choice I can always make because of the sufficiency of Gods empowering grace.

“To release a debt”:
The reason I am holding this in the ledger book of my heart is to make others pay (in multiple ways). Forgiveness transfers this issue from my courtroom to God’s, believing that He is fully capable of taking care of others.

“For the glory of God”:
There is nothing that illustrates God more clearly and shows others the remarkable power of God to help us through the deepest hurts of life than forgiveness.

 

You are loved,
Luci

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Suffering, a Blessing or Curse?

Suffering, a Blessing or Curse?

Suffering, a Blessing or Curse?

by Toni Weisz/Spiritual Disciplines

Scriptures: John 16:33b, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Hebrews 4:16, Isaiah 43:19

In the world you will have tribulations (trials and suffering); but be of good cheer (take courage), I have overcome the world. (John 16:33b)

Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation (affliction), that we may comfort those who are in any trouble (affliction), with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation (comfort and encouragement) also abounds (is abundant) through Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Lord, I have been struggling for quite a few years while persevering in prayer for my children who have been suffering some of the worst trials anyone can endure: betrayal, divorce, relational problems, mental health issues, a debilitating undiagnosed illness, harsh judgement from others, loneliness, depression, and fear. I am crying out to You to help me understand and to help me encourage them. Help me to love them and listen to them to validate and affirm them. These trials have left my children feeling all alone in their struggles; friends and family have left them. They have been judged harshly by others who do not understand.

How do I encourage them when I too am struggling? Turn my perspective around, give me a Godly view of what You are doing so I can encourage them to look up to You, because You are our only hope. I know You are a good Father and You do not allow your children to suffer longer than is necessary. But it has been over 3 years and 24 doctors later with no diagnosis for my son. He struggles because there is no vindication, and he is being judged harshly by others. My daughter is fearful to trust a man again because of the betrayal she experienced. My granddaughter is suffering with rejection wounds and anger issues, who cannot understand why her dad and mom are divorced. She struggles to believe in You because she does not perceive You as a good Father.

I am humbling myself before You. I am running to Your throne and bowing down my will, my thoughts, my heartache, and pain, and I am giving them all to You. I am boldly coming to Your throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. Take all our pain, suffering, confusion, and exchange them with Your peace, Your love, Your joy, Your presence, and make us a beautiful living testimony of Your faithfulness to a world that is watching us and how we deal with these trials. Show them, Lord, how great a God You are. We want You to be magnified and glorified through our testimonies. Give us the strength and courage to stay strong, to suffer well, and to be humble and teachable. Increase our faith and trust in You so that we will not be shaken, nor will we waver, but instead, we will stand strong on Your Word and Your Truth that will endure forever.

Questions to take to heart:

  1. How have you been suffering lately?
  2. Has God revealed the purpose for your suffering?
  3. Has God used you to minister to others because of what you have endured?
  4. How can we come alongside and encourage you during this time?

We live in a fallen world, and suffering is a part of life, but prolonged suffering is hard, and we can feel all alone in our suffering. Please reach out if you need prayer or encouragement: toni@myashestobeauty.com.

You are loved dearly,

Toni

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of suffering because it brings me closer to You. It humbles me and gets my attention so I am ready and willing to hear from You. Thank You that through my suffering I am conformed to the image of Jesus. I pray through my suffering I will have a greater capacity to love and have compassion for others who suffer. I know You never waste my suffering but You use it for my good and Your glory.

The Lord gave me this verse:
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

 

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God’s Peace

God’s Peace

God’s Peace

by Toni Weisz/Spiritual Disciplines

Scripture References: Psalm 119:165, Galatians 5:22-23, John 16:33, Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 9:6, John 10:29, and Daniel 2:21

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119:165

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

These things have I spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Everyone in this world desires peace. The politicians are promising peace, but they cannot deliver that.

Why do we yearn for peace in our souls? Because we are all created by God, who offers this peace to all His children. Peace is listed third in the list of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.

Jesus told us in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation, trials, and suffering, but be assured and confident I have overcome the world.”

God created us for a relationship with Him, but we try to fill this void in our hearts with all kinds of things, but nothing satisfies. Only a relationship with Jesus can satisfy our longing soul for fellowship with our Creator God and Father.

Jesus is the answer to every problem we face in this world. He binds up our broken hearts and heals our wounds (ref. Psalm 147:3). He is the Great Physician.

In Isaiah 9:6, which is a foretelling of His birth, it states that Jesus will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

How can we describe God’s peace to someone who has never experienced it? It’s the knowledge that I am forgiven, and I don’t need to hide my sins and secrets anymore. I don’t have to wear a mask and pretend anymore that everything is great. I can be real. I am loved and accepted by God just the way I am because Jesus paid my sin debt on the cross. I am no longer separated from God. I can love and forgive others because of what God has done for me. I am free. That is what gives me peace. I don’t belong to the devil anymore; I was bought by the precious blood of Jesus. I belong to God now, and no one can pluck me out of the Father’s hand (ref. John 10:29).

Another kind of peace comes from trusting God, no matter what is going on in the world or in my personal life. During this very turbulent and sometimes toxic election cycle, I worked 9 days of early voting, and I will work on Election Day, which is a 14.5-hour day. I still have peace.

Do you know why I have peace? I recognize that God is in control. None of this is taking Him by surprise. Daniel 2:21 says “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes Kings and raises Kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those how have understanding.”

God is the one ultimately who decides who runs this country. We still need to do our part. I vote. I put a “No on Amendment 4” signs on my lawn, and I have worked the polls for over a decade. I thank God for giving me this time to do it, the strength and endurance to wake up at 4:30 AM, and I pray daily.

The enemy is continually trying to rob you of your peace because he knows you belong to God. He cannot take your spirit to hell, but he can torment you.

Spend time alone with the Lord in a quiet place, and allow His Holy Spirit minister to you. He loves you so much, and He knows your struggles. He collects your tears in a bottle. He knows everything about you, and He still loves you more than you can comprehend. Ask Him to cover you with His peace and to protect you. Make a daily decision to walk in His peace regardless of what is going on around you.

Questions to take to heart:

1.) Are you experiencing God’s peace right now?
If yes, why do you feel peace?

If no, what is preventing you from experiencing His peace?

2.) How can we encourage you and pray for you today?

My prayer for you is that you will experience the peace and joy of the Lord in your heart, mind, and soul. Please reach out. We are here for you. Email me at: toni@myashestobeauty.com.

You are loved,
Toni

 

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