I remember the season when I sensed God saying to me, “Steve, this is the season to kill the giant of discouragement. Your feelings of discouragement are a bigger problem than what you are discouraged about. For the rest of your life, there will be something for you to be discouraged about. It is time for you to take up the Sword of the Spirit (the word of God) and kill that thing.”

So I decided that when the feeling of discouragement wanted to come on me, I would get excited and think, “This is the moment of a great opportunity for me. This moment has more potential for me than most of the powerful God encounters I crave so much. I am sensing resistance in my soul, we only get stronger soul muscles by pushing against resistance!”

Today I want to talk about some unsuspecting moments in our lives that, if apprehended, can literally propel our lives forward in incredible ways. 

At the beginning of my book, Fully Convinced: The Art of Decision Making, I ask these questions:

1. Is my feeling unworthy a bigger problem than what I feel unworthy about?
2. Is my feeling of shame a bigger problem than what I feel ashamed about?
3. Is my feeling of regret a bigger problem than what I feel regret about?
4. Is my unresolved doubt about a decision or commitment I have made a bigger problem than the decision or commitment itself?
5. Is my belief that God is more interested in me obeying Him than enjoying Him a bigger problem than what I believe I am doing wrong in my life?
6. Is my tendency to focus on what is wrong with me when I take communion a bigger problem than what is wrong with me? 

The answer to these questions is almost always yes. 

Regret, shame, discouragement, and unworthiness are strongholds in our thinking that we all face. They produce feelings and thoughts that, if not resisted, will only strengthen the stronghold. These strongholds are part of the “giants” trying to keep us out of our Promised Land (trying to keep us from experiencing God’s promises).

In my blog, “I Wish Somebody Would Have Told Me”, I write this: In the New Covenant, our enemies are not literal giant-beings (as they were in the Old Testament), but they are mindsets (strongholds) that want to keep us out of our “Promised Land”. They are created and strengthened by regularly renewing our minds with lies. The devil is the father of all lies (John 8:44), and he can only defeat us if we believe his falsehoods. He tempts us to believe what he is saying rather than what God is saying. These temptations mainly come from our past, current circumstances, and feelings. Regularly yielding to the temptation to believe these lies creates strongholds. 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). The most quoted spiritual warfare passage is not talking about demonic regional principalities but about strongholds in our thinking. 

We have already mentioned the strongholds of shame, regret, discouragement, and unworthiness. Here are some more: 

• Inferiority
• Disappointment
• Victimhood
• Fear
• Worry
• Insecurity
• Perfectionism
• Rejection

I used to think I was the only one who faced these to the level I did. I thought there was something uniquely wrong with me. I did not realize we all face them and they can be defeated as we renew our minds with the truths of God. “Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

So what are THE moments in our lives? They are the times when the feelings generated by these strongholds want to come on us again. Let me say it like this. 

• My feeling of disappointment is almost always a bigger problem than what I am disappointed about. 
• My feeling of being a victim is almost a bigger problem than what I feel a victim about.
• My feeling of worry is almost always a bigger problem than what I am worrying about. 

When these feelings want to come on us, let’s say, “This is THE moment! This is my opportunity to put a mortal wound into this stronghold giant.”

We don’t want to use this teaching as an excuse for not addressing dysfunction in our lives, but the truths in this message have the potential to create a level of inner victory and influence that will astound you and those who know you. 

Why don’t you apply this message right now to an area of your life where a negative stronghold is sending you a non-hope-filled feeling such as regret, disappointment, discouragement, or one of the others listed? Say, “This is THE moment! I am so excited to use God’s promises to defeat this mindset!”