In my quiet time this morning I became aware of the absolute necessity of complete surrender of my life to the Lord Jesus, and to God's Word. Gods Word is amazingly profound and dependent on the Holy Spirit for understanding. It is by His Spirit that I ask for wisdom and understanding of His Word and the ability to be a do-er of it.

We all have "issues" and I think most of us struggle with commonalities. As I cried out to God about mine this morning, I felt a strong sense that my very struggles are common to every woman in some way or another. It boils down to one word in a sense, insecurity. I believe the enemy plays on our insecurities. It's where he gets a foothold. I know this to be true in my own life. I felt weary today, tired of dealing with the same old same old. My Bible study homework zoned in on verses I have been drawn to for as long as I have been a Christian: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

The Bible study I am currently doing is "Breaking Free' by Beth Moore. In todays lesson she stresses that human effort is useless against demolishing strongholds, that it is clearly a "divine demolition" requirement. She states: "Satan's power comes from his power to bluff. Once we learn the truth and how to use it, he loses his hold." A stronghold is a place of hiding in times of insecurity. Its what stumbles us and keeps us from living in victory, a joy-stealer and peace-zapper. I have many things that fall in to that category, but that probably all come down to a form of insecurity. What does it mean to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God"? Beth Moore states that these arguments are our rationalizations for our strongholds we continue to struggle with. I was convicted that I have used many excuses for continuing on with a stronghold I know to be of no value, and aware of the damage it causes in my relationship with the Lord. Pride is involved in every stronghold, every sin. I desire to be humble, to be set free from every form of pride, yet I easily fall prey to this, it feels like a continual battle to remain in humility. The enemy preys on my pride, he uses it to distract me from my worship of God, to deter me from seeking humility.

I absolutely loved this verse from the homework, Hosea 11:4: "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them." Pride presses on the yoke of my neck as the enemy preys on this and leads me with cords of falsehood and lies. Knowing the truth is the key to liberty. God's Word says the Truth will set me and you free. I long to be free.

The next crucial part and the part that I have been fascinated with is taking every thought of mine captive. How in the world is that possible? My thoughts can come at me like a ballistic missle, spewing random thoughts that are hard to even make myself aware of, let alone "hold them captive". They can be subtle, so as not to cause any attention to, yet I am to bring my thoughts into subjection continually. Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." It is something I must practice, I must strive to do. To be steadfast means to sustain, to be braced...to lean upon. I have to choose to pick up God's Word, to read it, to apply it and to believe that it is true. I have to be steadfast. I have to be firm, to be secure. Humility results in security. When I can rest in who God made me to be, in the circumstances He has placed me in, in the role and position He has for me, in realizing and being thankful that His plans for me are good and to give me a future and a hope, than I can be secure, and my insecurities can no longer have a hold of me. I can be grateful for God's blessings on others and not let it promote jealousy and envy in me. Its what I am striving for. I want to be absolutely surrendered to Christ - that is where the victory is at. There is a war going on and the war is for freedom and the battlefield is the mind. This is what my homework stated and it is so true. The war is on our side if we have Him, in fact it is already won, another unfathomable truth, yet a truth that brings security and hope. It is a truth we can all carry with us, it is a truth that can set us free, that can give us perfect peace. It's worth all the striving and the taking captive of all those thoughts. Jesus came to free us from captivity, to bind up our broken hearts, to preach good news, to release us from darkness, to comfort us, to bestow on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of morning and a garment on praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-4). We can be a displayer of His splendor, not by being preoccupied with how we look, or how we are liked, but by letting Him renew our minds to His truth, to let Him filter our thoughts to see if they are based on truth or lies, if they are "set up against" what we know is His truth or if we are subtly being led by prideful thoughts, its a battle! As I type this, I know this will be a battle because I am in the midst of it myself and you are too, my fellow human being. "The wonders God wants to do in all our tomorrows are prepared for in our todays". Beth Moore very enthusiastically states and I could not agree more!