A casual reading of the Bible might lead you to the conclusion that whenever you rebuke an evil spirit, in the name of Jesus, that the demon must leave. After all, Jesus' disciples "returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name' (Luke 10:17)." Such, unfortunately, is not the case.
Further reading will reveal that even Jesus' disciples could not always cast out every demon: "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not (Mark 9:17-18)."
In this case, the problem involved the disciples' lack of faith. Prayer—some Bible translations state "prayer and fasting"—would also have been necessary for the disciples to succeed (Mark 9:29).
But I guarantee you that this is just "the tip of the iceberg." There's a lot more to understanding spiritual footholds, and the information in this article is fundamental to understanding and resolving mental health issues.
Let's start with what the Bible says about spiritual footholds: "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-27 )." Ephesians 4:27 is also translated "do not give the devil an opportunity " and "nor give place to the devil."
Unforgiveness, in your heart, results in emotional and sometimes physical torture (Matthew 18:21-35).
In order to break free, it is necessary to forgive the offender.
If your anger lasts more than 24 hours, a 'foothold' becomes established. After this period of time has passed, it's more difficult to forgive and break free.
Next, consider the following Scripture:
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)."
Take note of the following:
- The passage does use a term translated as "strongholds" or "fortresses." The idea is the same, though this term emphasizes that the issue is particularly serious and consequential.
- The "fortresses" referred to are not limited to anger issues.
- The spiritual weapons we have are "divinely powerful" and can destroy these "fortresses."
On this website, I use the terms foothold, stronghold, spiritual foothold and spiritual stronghold. These terms mean essentially the same thing.
These footholds/strongholds are points of operation, allowing Satan to exert power over us. They impact our thinking, our emotions and, often, our behavior. Only through the Lord’s power will we be able to be break free from Satan’s control. We have no power from within or without, except for the Lord.
Salient aspects of a foothold/stronghold: 1) Demons have the ability to cause you cognitive, emotional, physical, and sometimes behavioral distress, in some way. 2) Demons determine the timing of the aforementioned distress. 3) Demons do not necessarily have to leave right away as a result of prayer, prayer and fasting, being rebuked in the name of Jesus or any other of your spiritual weapons. 4) Demons, as a result of the stronghold, gain the ability to pressure you to sin in various ways. If you yield to this pressure, strongholds are maintained or strengthened—and new strongholds may also become established.
Some examples of definite or likely spiritual strongholds:
- Anxiety.
- Depression.
- Bitterness.
- Delusions.
- Obsessions/compulsions.
- Persistent "hallucinations."
- Addictions (Drugs, pornography, gambling etc.).1
- Inability to stop thinking about people you don't like.
- Inability to stop worrying.
- Inability to control violent urges.
- Involuntarily cursing God.
Strongholds almost always come about as a result of sin. This includes the sin of unforgiveness that is the result of abuse. Occasionally, God will allow a stronghold for other reasons (Job 1:1-22).
Some sins that definitely or often result in a stronghold include the following:
- Unforgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35).
- Not being assertive when you should (Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3 et al). Allowing yourself to be abused, as a result of fear, is a separate sin. It is related to—but is not the same as—the sin of unforgiveness.
- Jealousy.
- Fear: " . . . do not be frightened (1 Peter 3:14 NIV)."
- Dwelling on negative thoughts (John 14:27).
- Participation in satanic or occult rituals (Leviticus 19:26, Acts 19:19).
- Looking at pornography.
- Drug abuse.1
- Reviling/cursing the Devil (Jude 1:9).
Footholds/strongholds vary in strength. For example, they can range from recurring emotional distress/anxiety to severe suicidal depression.
Footholds/strongholds vary in duration. A foothold may last only a short time, as when you realize you need to forgive someone for an offense—and do so. Or a stronghold can last a lifetime, as when you refuse to forgive others for their wrongs or are less than successful at doing so.
Strongholds for specific anger issues can sometimes seem to be largely dormant for years. That is, you may not realize how much power Satan has until you come under a serious spiritual attack, in regard to the issue, years later.
Two examples of spiritual strongholds are found in the Old Testament. They follow.
First David, Israel's second king. David foolishly allowed himself to be humiliated in front of his men by allowing Shimei to repeatedly curse him and also throw stones at him (2 Samuel 16:5-14). I say foolishly because David was the government and thus had both the right and the ability to punish Shimei and stop this deplorable behavior. David then made a second mistake: He failed to forgive. As a result, he was tormented by this memory until the day he died (1 Kings 2:1-46).
Next, Saul. Saul, Israel's first king, also experienced a spiritual stronghold. His stronghold was the result of anger, jealousy and fear (1 Samuel: Chapters 15-19).
1 Samuel 16:14 explains what is happening when Satan exercises a spiritual stronghold: "Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord (demon) tormented him (NIV)."
Spiritual strongholds give Satan the power to create distress, up to the maximum afforded by the stronghold, and also to determine the timing of that distress in accordance with his purposes: "Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul's hand. Saul hurled the spear for he thought, 'I will pin David to the wall.' But David escaped from his presence twice (1 Samuel 18:10-11)."
As you can see, Satan's objective was to have Saul murder David. And he used the stronghold in an attempt to accomplish that objective.
Now, the obvious question: How do you get rid of a foothold/stronghold? Realize that while some issues can be overcome quickly, others may require years of effort. Just keep using prayer and the Word of God. Persistence is the key.
This is very much a war. It is not realistic to expect yourself to win every battle, but it is essential that you keep trying and not give up. You will learn something, or be reminded of something, from every battle.
Make a diligent effort to avoid sin—especially the sin that is the basis of the stronghold that you're trying to get rid of.
Be sure to read a chapter of the Bible every day. Focus, especially, on the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.
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