Mental strongholds

Shortly after I gave my life to Jesus I felt under a lot of pressure, I had lost friends, security and my partner of 16 years – my default was self-harm, something I had done as a child.  I wrote this poem in mid-2015 as I struggled with the fall out of leaving the gay community.  God has been gracious with me and I have been clean of self harm for 5 years now.

I am at war, my enemies are real, they’re strong, they’re attacking me.

Temptation, oppression, obsession, filling my mind with suggestion, they seek to secure my mind, to find an area of weakness.

They are ceaseless in their attack, incessantly looking for chinks in my armour, drawing me away from the love of my Father

Oh that I would remember God’s armour, hand-crafted to protect and support me.

I fear I have no concept of how much you protect me.

I must put on the armour without fail, keep alert, stand strong in my faith.

I AM strong and courageous.

I CAN beat the battle within, embrace discipline in my daily walk, talk to the Lord, grasping his hand as he leads me through the minefield of my mind.

Only God can destroy mental strongholds, He teaches truth.

Yes, the devil is a liar, his mission to undermine my self-control, to take my focus off serving God, to hinder my prayer for he knows that prayer is a powerful weapon

So here’s my truth.

Satan you don’t scare me cos I’m a prayer warrior, I surround myself with conquerors on the same mission, united in our vision.

Our weapons are not of the world, Godly weapons have divine power and demolish strongholds.

Satan, your stranglehold was broken the day I followed Jesus, God’s now preparing me for greater things.

God will lead me, I leave my fear behind, I have God’s strength and in my human frailty when all else fades, God remains.

He strengthens me, he knows how I feel, He knows where I am, He knows the beginning and the end, and on the day I meet him in heaven the battle won, the war over I will say,

I made it, my battle against the forces of evil ended, the enemy extinguished.

I remember the Cross and claim for myself Christ’s words,

“It is finished”.