Think Again!

34 • Think Again: Transformation That Yields a Return on God’s Investment

Like Adam and Eve, we think, “Maybe God can’t be trusted for my physical needs,” so like our ancestors we see that the fruit is good for food and we reach for it.

“Maybe God can’t be trusted to give me a happy life,” so we see that the fruit is a delight to the eyes and we reach for it.

“I wonder if God is keeping me in the dark, making me look foolish,” so we see that the fruit would make us wise and we reach for it. We pick the fruit of these temptations and eat them, dozens of times each day. As we do, we cause damage to ourselves and others, doing nothing to reduce our insecurities. In fact, our fears often get worse. When lies are offered to us, and we consume them without cross-examination, they form an attitude. Over time these attitudes become a normal part of our thinking. Therefore, by our acceptance of those lies, a stronghold is built one bite at a time . Signs of Strongholds Here are a few signs that you have allowed a stronghold to take place: • You become hard on the outside but fearful on the inside. As Dr. Don Davis says, “You act like The Incredible Hulk, but inside you feel like Winnie the Pooh.” • You chronically speak negatively about yourself. “Nothing ever goes right for me. Everything I touch fails.” • You worry about things that haven’t happened yet and may never happen. • Anxiety or bitterness floods your daily thoughts and then they come out of your mouth (Matt. 15.18).