Day 4 – Gaza

“These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.” Judges 3:3 NLT

Philistine was ruled by five rulers. The first of these was Gaza, meaning a city of strength. Today we refer to this in the spirit as “Strongholds”. I have to admit, the first time I heard this term I imagined a bunch of demons perching on the roofs of city buildings like birds nesting. But in fact, a stronghold is a thought pattern founded by a lie. See, lies become deception when you believe them. Deception influences your feelings, which becomes your actions and in the end becomes a habit we believe is the truth.

Strongholds built by the enemy are not built by a force of strength.  Like Legos, separate they are just a bunch of little, plastic, colorful blocks. When you start building something, it becomes a unified, strong thing of interlinking blocks. The strategy of the enemy is to place lies in your life that become deceptions strong enough to influence your feelings and actions.

Bound between two pillars in the temple of Gaza, Samson stood defeated. In this city of strength, he realised his famous strength never came from within himself but from God alone. With the answered prayer from God to give him strength this one last time, Samson brought down the temple killing more people in that one single act than in his entire reign as a Judge of Israel.

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13

Our strategy is our strength in Jesus Christ. He is the breaker of strongholds, the Truth eliminating the lie and through His strength we are victorious. Nothing – and I mean nothing – is stronger than our Messiah. The enemy would want you to believe that what he has thrown in your way is bigger, but my sweet friend, it is not. Like Samson, you too can break down the Gaza in your life through the strength of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father, I want to thank You for the Truth that I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. There is nothing stronger than Jesus even though the enemy wants me to believe the lie that my circumstances are strong enough to break me. I declare in the Name of Jesus that I can stand against the Gaza’s in my life through Christ. Amen.

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