There are things in your life that seem unchangeable—patterns or struggles that have lingered in your family for years, maybe even generations. You’ve spent time thinking about them, praying about them. Deep down, you know they don’t reflect God’s design for your life, but you do your best to cope and carry on.

These are called strongholds.

In Matthew 17, there’s a story that illustrates how, in the midst of a difficult situation, God calls us to have faith. It’s a reminder that He is always near to those who trust in Him.

“When they reached the crowd, a man approached and knelt down before him. “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

—Matthew 17:14-16 (CSB)

This father lived in constant fear that his son could die the next time he had a seizure. He brought his son to the disciples, hoping they could heal him because Jesus had gone up the mountain.

“Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed.”

—Matthew 17:17-18 (CSB)

When Jesus says, “Bring him here to me”, he is asking the dad to take a step of faith. Jesus is asking you to bring that thing you can’t change and lay it at his feet.

Two Truths About Strongholds

• Strongholds become broken when we are desperate before the Lord

The father who brought their son to Jesus was hurting seeing his son suffer from the seizures. It had been years and years of pain and sorrow.

It’s not the darkness of the trial that wears us down, it’s the duration of the trial. You can put up with almost anything if you know it’s going to be over soon.

“Hope delayed makes the heart sick.”

—Proverb 13:12 (CSB)

This verse means that it is hard to hope. It hurts to hope that your spouse comes to know the lord, that your prodigal son will come back to church, that God will heal your medical condition, etc. Hope says, “I need something, and I don’t have it.”

The father hears that Jesus is in town—the miracle worker has come down from the mountain. He’s heard the rumors: Jesus fed 5,000, raised a girl from the dead, calmed the storm. And now he wonders, Maybe Jesus can help my boy.

Each Gospel captures the desperation of the father’s plea in a unique way:

• Matthew records him crying out, “Lord, have mercy.”
• Mark captures his emotion: “Look at my son.”
• Luke adds the words, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us—the family.”

Then Jesus responds, “If you can, all things are possible to the one who believes.“

The father replies with brutal honesty: “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
In other words, I believe—but it’s hard to believe anything will ever change with my son.

And that’s where Jesus starts—with the place where you’re most desperate. When you come to the end of yourself, you are ready for Jesus to break strongholds.

• Jesus responds to your faith as you act

Biblical faith is an internal conviction followed by external action.

It’s not about how much faith you have. Jesus actually says that even a tiny mustard seed of faith can move mountains. The power isn’t in the size of your faith—it’s in the object of your faith. What matters most is who your faith is in.

“Call on me in a day of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

—Psalm 50:15 (CSB)

God’s inviting you to call on Him in the day of trouble. He will meet you in your struggle against your stronghold just like he met the father where he was.

God is not offended when you say, “I do believe—help my unbelief.” It’s okay to admit your struggle. It’s okay to pray for a sign, to cry out, “Lord, show me that You’re at work. Help my unbelief.”
He meets us in our honesty, not our perfection.

To break strongholds, we must have the power of the resurrection at work within us. It’s not by our strength or willpower, but by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the power that sets us free.

Pastor Chris Williams

To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these weekly encouragements in your inbox.