Above everything else, guard your heart. It is where your life comes from (Proverbs 4:23)
In the Old Testament the word “heart” is used more than 800 times, but more than 200 times it deals with one's thought life, emotions, the wellsprings of life, those things that motivate and mould us.
Let’s think about the ‘default settings’ that are in our minds and hearts. These are the thoughts that we think - without even thinking about them! They are well-trodden mental trails - we call them ‘mindsets’ - a word that speaks of how they are solidly set in our thinking. Some of us tread those same trails everyday, in the self-talk that goes on inside our heads. We can have false mindsets about ourselves, (especially when it comes to shame) about others, about church, about the workplace…the list goes on.
Elijah the prophet did incredible things for God, but check out his locked up mindset in 1 Kings 19:
Elijah was depressed, terrified and isolated. God spoke to him:The word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:9–10)
A little later God repeats the question, and Elijah’s response is exactly the same, word for word. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:13–14)
So what are our ‘mindsets’ that need to be challenged and changed, because Elijah was quite wrong in his mindset? A bible word for ‘mindset’ is stronghold.
In the Old Testament, David hid from Saul in strongholds:
David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph (1 Samuel 23:14).
No wonder David used the idea of a stronghold positively to describe the Lord as his protection:
He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer (Ps 144:2).
So the idea of a stronghold would be familiar in biblical times, and the apostle Paul uses it as a metaphor for thoughts, ideas and mindsets.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Cor 10:4–5)
Strongholds were used for defence and storage, holding food, water and weapons.
A stronghold of the mind is a lie that Satan has established in our thinking that we count as true but is actually a false belief. When we embrace these lies, they affect our attitudes, emotions, and behaviours.
Ed Silvoso: ’A stronghold is a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable situations that we know are contrary to the will of God.’
Let’s begin to attack these thoughts and mindsets by ‘arresting’ them. Paul goes on to say, ‘we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Cor 10:5) We are not to be those who are at the mercy of our thoughts; we don’t leave the ‘door’ of our minds wide open, but rather we determine what we will focus our minds on. This is a vital part of guarding our hearts.
That truth is also celebrated in Philippians.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.(Phil 4:8).
Paul is saying to us, think about what you think, decide what you will dwell on!
And then we nurture healthy thinking as we feed on and mediate upon God’s word.
We confront the lies that the enemy whispers to us with the truth of what God says about us, and so we begin to demolish the stronghold, stone by stone, brick by brick.
All of this takes intentionality, discipline and determination, but the Holy Spirit will help us in this vital work of demolishing lies and replacing them with truth.
A prayer: Dear Father, please show me where I have allowed false mindsets to become concreted in my mind. You are the One who brings truth; help me to see the dead-end trails that I walk, and empower me to think healthily and truthfully. Help me to guard my heart. I ask this in faith, grateful for Your love. Amen.