How to Break a Generational Stronghold at the Root

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You’ve recognized the repeating pattern in your family—but how do you actually break it?

In this episode of Intentional Breakthrough, Tania Hilton and Charity Gurtler move beyond identifying generational strongholds and walk through the practical process of uprooting them with the Holy Spirit.

Using judgment as a real-life example, they explore how unhealthy family behaviors, beliefs and defense mechanisms can become so familiar that they feel like part of your identity. But what was passed down to you does not have to remain attached to you.

Breakthrough is not simply cutting off the visible behavior while leaving the root untouched. It is allowing the Lord to reveal what has been planted in your heart, heal the places beneath it and replace every lie with His truth.

You found the family pattern. Now it’s time to break it.

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Intentional Breakthrough Resources:

THE BOOK: Intentional Breakthrough by Charity Gurtler
https://a.co/d/08wOsvMY

Intentional breakthrough is possible when we align ourselves with God’s love and truth. You don’t have to sit and wait for your breakthrough to happen. Healing and restoration are attainable. Begin your journey today.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We're taught at a very early age, before we have memory, to accept this behavior, to mold ourselves to fit into this dysfunction. I think instead of looking at why is God allowing me to suffer for what the gen, you know, my pastorations have done, it's instead looking at he actually made a way so that I could come free from that curse. And so we are just systematically piece by piece clipping all the ties of the root of judgment out of our life or any any strong who we're talking about until all those ties are clipped. And then when they're all done, you ask, you know, we're just walking through this with the Holy Spirit. Is there anything else there? He says no. It's like, sweet. Time to pull the whole root up.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Okay, welcome back. Uh my name is Tanya Hilton. I'm here with Charity Girtler, and we are intentional breakthrough where we talk everything um, breakthrough, spiritual breakthrough with the Holy Spirit and some of the things that can oppress us and kind of uh torment us. And so today I believe we're gonna get into a little bit of the generational trauma, uh, generational, how would you call it charity? Because we just talked about this. What what do you what do you say to people?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I usually say generational strongholds. So a stronghold is just that a term most people are familiar with that refers to just, you know, if you're in the middle of a battle, either side gathers its resources, takes over an encampment, a fort, a garrison, whatever you want to call it. And it's a stronghold where they can um, you know, have place for just gearing up supplies and from that place they launch attacks on nearby areas. And so a stronghold can, it can be good or bad. Strongholds can be good or bad.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Yeah. And so we see um a lot of times, I'm just gonna jump right into like how how I identify, oh, that's that's generational. If I see patterns that go through different families where like uh the father abandoned the family, the grandfather abandoned the family, uh, there's infidelity, addiction. We see this where like uh some people will come talk to me and they'll say, Oh, yeah, my dad struggles with this, or my granddad struggles with this. So I was just working with somebody yesterday and she was um her, she's having a hard time because her partner is doing things that could violate their relationship. He hasn't done anything yet, yet. I say yet, and I pray the Holy Spirit that he's not going to, but there's a pattern because his dad had left the family and his granddad left the family. So it's like, oh, that's generational. That's something that just comes out to me. How do you identify generational strongholds with families?

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Well, like you said, it's usually a pattern that gets passed down, but it can be it can be more clear and obvious like that, or there's just a clear pattern of um, you know, abandonment or abuse or substance abuse. Um, but it can also just be kind of kind of slip through the cracks like anxiety, um, just like the tendency to go to worry when something goes wrong, or a tendency to just be really fearful about something, or a tendency to just shut down and not want to communicate. Um, there's a lot of little things like that that kind of slip through the cracks that we tend to think are normal because we grew up in that system. We talked about that last episode. When you grow up in the system where all of these behaviors are normalized, it feels very familiar. It feels normal. And so you don't even realize that's not normal, healthy behavior until you learn differently, until, you know, either you're around a different group of people or the Holy Spirit starts to open your eyes to different things. And then you start to realize, oh, this pattern of behavior that was passed down, this is generational. This is something that I kind of was just born into and grew up into. And the tricky thing about generational strongholds is that they are very familiar. They're very normal. We're taught at a very early age, before we have memory, to accept this behavior, to mold ourselves to fit into this dysfunction. And we grow in that dysfunctional system. And so our whole life, our whole being, our whole soul, our personality is all shifted to fit into that dysfunction. And so it's really kind of a mind-opening, like, but also an amazing uh chance for breakthrough when you start to realize this is a dysfunctional mold I've been fitting into. And the Lord starts to heal you and starts to free you of that, and you can start to grow and be who he made you to be.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And and you know, it's like we uh we can go back to scripture, we can see it in scripture that it is something that God tells us it's going to happen. You know, that our uh it's Exodus, Exodus 34, 7, that the Lord visits the iniquities of the fathers on the children and the children and children from third and fourth generation. So we know it's gonna happen because he's already kind of tells us, he gives us a heads up. Uh and so, like, I think sometimes we think, why is God so cruel? Well, how would you answer that? Why is God so cruel that he would allow me to suffer the iniquities of people that I've never even met before? I've never met my my grandfather on either side, right? So why would I suffer the iniquities of those that generation?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

I think instead of looking at why is God allowing me to suffer for what the gen, you know, my pastorations have done, it's instead looking at he actually made a way so that I could come free from that curse. Wow. He made a way so that I could not have to suffer under that. He literally sent his son to die. Jesus gave his life to die to break the curse of darkness and sin so that I could walk free. And I think what this thing that people don't understand is that, you know, when we do accept that salvation of the Lord, that is a finished work. But when it comes to sanctification, which is that cleansing of our soul, it's a process. And so the more we accept what he has done, deeper and deeper layers and come into agreement with it and let him work deeper and deeper in our hearts, the more that sanctification spreads throughout our soul layer and the more we begin to live in the complete freedom that he had for us. And so there is a little bit of a difference between that, like getting saved, you're saved with Christ, but you're also being sanctified. And so when we're talking about breaking generational strongholds, that's that process of sanctification. It's almost more like that purity and life and and power of the Lord is spreading throughout all of us. And then it hits all these little different blocks along the way and it spreads and clears it all out. That's the sanctification process. Starts with salvation, but then it grows and grows and grows and just Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

That's really good. I loved, I loved, I love that you jumped on that. Um, I want to go back just really quick though, because if people were to say, Why am I suffering? Why am I suffering for the sins of my fathers? I the like the earthly answer is there are natural consequences to everything that happens, right? So if there's addiction or abuse that your grandparents or your great grandparents suffered with, there are natural consequences that are gonna come through that. So we're gonna see suffering. This isn't God that says, now your children are gonna have to suffer because of that. We're gonna see that. But like you said, let's not focus on why does this happen? We know why it happens because it's sin. And scripture supports what you just said too, because if you go to Exodus, Exodus 26, it said that God's love pours out to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Okay, so the the the trauma, the generational stronghold piece of it only you could say goes down to third and fourth generation. But God's love, when you've got him in your family, when you keep his commandments, when you love him, his love pours out to thousands of generations. And so that's what we focus on. And that's where the freedom comes through. I love that. Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

And that you you I think it's just that verse. I mean, we're talking about the character of God and who he is. And people want to jump on that verse, like, oh, God's punishing these generations. Like, no, I don't think so at all. I think it, like you said, it's natural consequences. If you really want to look at God's character, he's not a punisher, he's a rewarder, a blesser, a savior. Like he came to save us from the consequences of that sin that passed down that we can enter into with him in that abundant life. And so that verse is I is yeah, I think it's worth pointing out, it's the reality of consequences. It's the reality of consequences that do pass down. You know, I have a lot of stuff passed down generational lines to me, a lot of some deep and heavy things, but I have found freedom through Christ with them. I don't care what generational order I'm in, if I'm second, first, third, fourth, whatever it is, like I have found freedom and and that's through Christ. And that he offers that to everyone. To everyone. That's why he came and died. So there is freedom available for anybody that wants to just enter into that. If you would like to stay up to date and get notified of when new episodes, blog posts, or resources are available, click on the subscribe link in the description. Please leave a comment with ideas or questions, or email us at questions at intentionalbreakthrough.com. We would love to hear from you and we'll include them in future QA episodes. For more information on these topics, visit intentional breakthrough.com. And for more information on a guided prayer session, visit anchored biblical counseling.org.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Okay, so the big question then, somebody who identifies, you know, is like, oh, now I realize that I have this pattern. Uh, like my mom is very judgmental, and her mom was very judgmental, and and her aunt was very critical. And now you're like, hey, maybe that is something that's generational because now I'm I'm struggling with a critical spirit or a judgmental spirit. Now what? Yeah, what do we do? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

I like to see strongholds as like a root system, like a root. So um, all throughout scripture, uh, that analogy of seeds and roots and a farmer, you know, the farmer uh spreading his seeds and growing it on good soil or thorny soil or rocky soil, that's what the kingdom of heaven is like. That analogy is just used all throughout scripture. So it's just a, I mean, for a reason. I think I think that's kind of how it works. So if we look at our hearts, our soul as soil, we can have different things in the soil. We can have healthy soil, we can have thorns in there, we can have rocks, we can have a mixture of all of it. It's not like every each person is all healthy or all thorny. It's, you know, there's a part of my heart that it's it's being nourished and it's got some healthy soil. There's a part over here that has some deep thorns and roots in there. And those are the things that I kind of think of as generational strongholds. So if you, the Lord can come and plant things, and that's a good root system, but the enemy can things can be planted in our generational line and it builds a root system. So just like a root, if you don't get to the like a weed that's growing up or a thorn that's growing up, if you don't get to the bottom of the root system and actually clip the ties of all those roots and pull the whole thing out, it's gonna grow back. So when you're just trying to chop off the thorns, so let's say there's a thorny bramble growing up, okay? And there's all these little thorns that are getting in the way and they poke and they hurt and it's actually producing some negative fruit in your life. Um, if you just chop the thorns off but don't get to the root, what's gonna happen? Right, I'll just grow back. So yeah. So it's gonna grow back. So we have to get deep down to where the roots are. So what are the roots? The roots I see as uh lies and belief systems that we've had that have helped that stronghold get ingrained over time.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

And so let's get pro let's I want you to get very practical. Like I want to use an example, like a real, like let's uh like think of anything, a real example of a stronghold that you'd pull up. Judgment.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Okay. That's one that you just brought up. So judgment.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Okay. Step ones. Go ahead. Well, what's I I'm you're making me think. I'm like, what's the lie? So what's the lie? I would think that somebody who lives with a spirit of judgment, right? A generational, um, that they would think that everybody judges me. That's that's a lie, right? Everybody judges me because when you grow up in a household where your parents are constantly talking about other people, like you know, you go visit family, and as soon as you get in the car, you're like, That Aunt Sally, did you see she had way too much to drink? And and what's what's up with Uncle Bill? And Uncle Bill is like his politics are crazy. That's a judgmental spirit, yes? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Uh and judgment might be a little bit of a tricky one to start with because it's often a defense mechanism. So people will judge so that they are not judged. Or they'll just keep that veneer, that covering of like, oh, look at this person, look at that person, look at that person, because they don't want to feel that judgment or that shame underneath the surface. Exactly. So when we're unpacking a stronghold, sometimes that's what it is. It's a sometimes it is, sometimes it's not, but it can be a defense mechanism. So it's just it's taking the time. Honestly, that's why this podcast is called intentional breakthrough, because it's a breakthrough can be intentional. We can take the time, create the time and the space to encounter the Lord in these areas of our heart. Ask him to show us where the root system is at, where the root is at. And so, but I do tell people start with forgiveness first because it's almost as if a lot of times people will want to go after some strong generational stronghold and it's just a blank. They they got nothing. They like I'm asking the Lord for help. I don't hear anything, I don't see anything. Start with forgiveness. Forgiveness is almost like it clears off all of these weights and these veils and this covering so that you can see and hear clearly. And once all that's cleared out of the way, so you just start with, okay, God, who do I need to forgive? And when it comes to that spirit of judgment, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Right? Because don't you judge yeah. So focusing in. So I would then again, I would assume that the the person who's struggling with a critical spirit, judgmental spirit that has family members that judge, maybe it's like, well, let me forgive all my family members that I have experienced judging either me or somebody else. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Friends, friends, authority figures that have judged me. Even forgive yourself, that's a big one because I guarantee that spirit of judgment is there judging yourself and you've agreed with those thoughts towards you, towards yourself. So forgiving yourself for just judging yourself, forgiving others, for giving, yeah, forgiving authority figures, forgiving different organizations, forgiving, forgiving everyone, forgiving the culture. But it does work a lot better when you're specific. It would be so nice if you could just say, I forgive everyone, everyone's next step. It doesn't really seem to work that way. It it's it because it needs to it requires a personal engagement with who you really are, where you're really at, what really impacted you in your heart at a heart level. Okay, I forgive my mom. Okay, I forgive her for saying this. I forgive my friend for saying this. I forgive my ex-boyfriend for doing this, I forgive, and you just start going and it becomes real and personal. And we don't want to go to that place. We want to just stay in the, oh, I just forgive everyone, blanket, you know, detached way uh position. But that detached position does not bring freedom into the places where we really need it, which is deep in our heart. When we get real and personal and we open up and we're vulnerable and we go before the Lord and say, okay, I forgive this person, I forgive this person, and it becomes real, these wounds become real. That's where the transformation happens. That's where the change happens. Because you're actually allowing the Lord to get to the places that are wounded, that are vulnerable, but that's what needs healing. And when healing really actually happens, transformation really actually happens. So it can be hard. So set aside a little bit of time, but just go there. And and I say this a lot, he only reveals so that he can heal. Um, and I got that from someone else I can't take credit for it, but he only reveals so he can heal. So it's it's it's trusting him enough to let him go to those deep places, opening up those places of your heart and your soul to be bare before him, to be wounded, letting taking the band-aids off the wound, exposing the open wound that's still there and forgiving. But in that place of forgiveness, there's safety because he takes all of that yuckiness off and the darkness and the heaviness and the weight, and he takes it off, and you can actually start to get healed. So it's hard to take the band-aid off, but it's worth it.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Yeah. So somebody jumps into forgiveness and they go through and and as they start forgiving, more and more just comes up and they're like, Oh yeah, I remember my friend in second grade. And and when she said my shoes were ugly, well, I forgive her for that. And then uh so then then they go through and they're like, Okay, I feel good. What's next?

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Yeah, they feel clear. Now, now we're talking about judgment, it's worth bringing up. I I taught I I call them like word arrows, or you know, someone can say something to you and it can bounce off of you, or they can say something to you and it's laced with like some kind of dark thing, like judgment and it pierces your heart. And those arrows stay there until we take them out. And so sometimes it's you're forgiving your the second grade friend for saying something about your shoes, right? But also she's like, okay, let's say she's like, oh, nobody, you're you're just not cool, nobody likes you. Whatever. We're just gonna go with that. Breaking agreement with those words as well as forgiving her is sometimes a necessary step. When words are involved, um, we need to forgive, but also break agreement with them because at a deep place in our heart, and that second grader's little heart, she might have believed it. And that belief allows that arrow to stay connected and attached. And so it's not enough to just forgive. You have to say, No, I break agreement with those words, and you pull that arrow out, and those words are no longer attached to you, they're no longer holding you down. And it's it's a very real thing when it comes to words. Words can really get attached. Um, I walked through that a lot of that, and so just individually had to break off all the words that came to me. Okay, break agreement with that one. And then you ask the Lord, what's the truth? And it's the same thing as replacing the lies with the truth. So, okay, God, what's your truth? And I'd like to hear what that would be to a second grader, but this is a just a scenario. So I don't know what it would be.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Well, I mean, I can imagine. So, you know, if she, if her her best friend is mad at her and she's like, nobody likes you because your shoes are ugly, you know, and like for a minute there, that person might believe, oh, what if nobody likes me? So that's what that's what oh, we call it we call it word curses in our house. I mean, I'll tell my kids, like if my kids say something like, Oh, you're so stupid to one, I'm like, don't you word curse my child, like don't you say that? So we say, like, don't word curse each other. Yeah, and don't word curse yourself. That's how we words too. Yeah. Yep. Exactly. So um they they break agreement with that, like, that's not true. Nobody, you know, I do have friends, or you know, it's not true that nobody likes me. And so what would God say to that person is that you're loved and beloved and you're chosen. Not only are you somebody's friend, but the Holy Spirit would tell you that you are chosen by the Spirit to be part of the family. You know, it's like, who cares if you have friends when you're grafted in the in the kingdom, if you're an heir to the kingdom? Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

He speaks to your identity, who you really actually are. Exactly. And you know what else I wouldn't be surprised in a scenario like that. I've seen God do this many times. He even says, I gave you unique style to pick those types of shoes because I created an artistic vibe in you. And now look at your life and all this artistic sense that's flowing out of you. And so the Lord just makes it so personal so many times in into their identity. He's done that with me so many times and realizing like not only am I just loved in spite of having shoes this person didn't like, the fact that he even picked those shoes is part of how he made me, and it's and it's a beautiful expression. And so he really just he personalizes it. He speaks so much love and truth to people that really, really heals their identity at a deeper level. And I know this is we're kind of being a little bit silly about the shoes in second grade, but that's actually a very real thing. It's real, it is a real thing. It's real. Yeah, yeah. I mean, kids are meaningful. Haven't walked through this, but man, that stuff like that comes up pretty often. And I it stick, it sticks. It's it seems silly to us because an adult mind wouldn't care what a second grader said about their shoes. But a second grader mind cares a lot. And the thing is, is we carry all of those who hurts and wounds with us, and we do need to go back and address them at some point to free those that area of our heart from what it's been carrying. So it it seems trite, but it it is an example of something that can happen. There's also a lot of deeper things too that can happen.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

But but that's right where I mean, if you look at the development of children at that age, like second grade, third grade, uh kids really start coming into themselves, like becoming their own identity, being aware of their own identity, wanting to have their identity. So I second and third graders could be mean. I mean, your kids are a little younger. Mine have already gone through it, but I remember second grade. Like I still remember the kids who were mean to me in second grade. I have to go back and forgive them, you know, if I can remember their names. But yeah, I mean, it's it I am sure that anybody listening can remember something that happened in second and third grade, first, second, third grade that was like, yeah, Billy on the playground was really mean. Like he said something really mean to me and it sticks. Yeah. Yeah. That stuff sticks. So we're gonna keep going because I want to get to get to the the stronghold piece of it. So you go through forgiveness, you go through lies, word arrows, right? Because they're side.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Yeah. So the lies and the word arrows can be similar, but it specifically with a stronghold of judgment, there's probably gonna be a lot of word arrows, uh, word curses, however you want to say it. Um, so you're breaking those, find the truth, and then just in general, what lies are there? And pretty much, pretty, pretty much uh guarantee that for a lot of people, they thought judgment was safe. Judgment's gonna protect me. A deep, deep level of I feel, I believe that here's the oh, so you ask the Lord, God, what other lies have I believed? And when you do clear off all the forgiveness and all those things, you start to hear the Lord much more clearly at those deeper levels. And I wouldn't be surprised if you said, I've thought judgment was safe. I thought judgment I thought judgment protected me. That's a lie.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Okay, so I break agreement with that lie, God, what's the truth? And I can tell you the truth is that it actually doesn't protect me. It's almost like that fortress of control that we talked about episode six, the fortress of control, where it's just this huge, big fortress that looks so safe. And like, oh, I'm gonna like go into agreement with control and use control in my life to try and protect myself. And the Lord showed me this huge, huge, massive, massive fortress that looks so safe, but then it panned around to the back door, and there's this back door open that let all this dark stuff inside. That's kind of what judgments is like, too. And any any defense mechanism, honestly, that's kind of what it's like. It's it's that you're coming into an agreement with something to protect yourself that's not the Lord. But when anytime you come into an agreement with anything that's not the Lord, it's the other side, and there's always gonna have a price to pay. There's always gonna have Price to pay. So when we put up walls to protect ourselves, we take up judgment to protect ourselves. We, whatever it might be to protect ourselves, we're paying a price with that back door being open that the enemy can actually have this access to impact our life negatively.

unknown 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

And so it's you know what? Yeah. It's interesting that you say that. And I don't want to jump too much into this, but but somebody had, we're starting to get questions. And so you remind me of a question that we got. I'm just looking through. Uh somebody had said something as far as uh, I know that I was oppressed and I've dealt with my oppression, like I'm I'm dealing with it, but can I still be, can they affect me again, is what the question was. Um, they had an encounter with the Holy Spirit, can they be affected? But what you just shared, like that scenario that you shared where you've got this back door open and you're letting all this stuff in. It's like that the short answer is yes. If you keep partnering with anything outside of the Holy Spirit, you're opening your door to be oppressed again. So it, but it could have different faces. Yeah. Does that make sense? Right. So you deal, you realize, let's just play this scenario out. You're realizing you've got this spirit of judgment, you deal with the spirit of judgment, which we're gonna still get to, like how to how to pull that route up. But if you're not constantly partnering with the Holy Spirit and you partner with anything outside of it, which we we all unfortunately do on this side of eternity, yeah, we are going to sin. Yeah. And inadvertently, knowingly into it. Generationally, yes. So, so yes, it's you can constantly be opening doors to things that are not healthy. And that's why we that's why we're having this podcast to have awareness. Like, what are you partnering with? So, okay, sorry, you just like reminded me of that question. And I'm like, I want to, I wanted to jump on it because yes, if we're not partnering with the Holy Spirit and we partner with anything outside of it where we think we're protecting ourselves, then yes, we're opening doors. Sorry, keep going. We have that's five minutes, six minutes. So I want you to get to the root piece of it too. Man, okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

I know, right? Yeah, control's a big one. Anytime we put up anything to protect ourselves, walls, defense mechanisms, that actually is a spirit of control because we're trying to control things ourselves, and that is an opening for the Holy Spirit for an opening for the enemy to come through. It's it goes back to we've said this before on this podcast, but it's not necessarily just about our actions. It's what spirit we're agreeing with in our heart. What are we coming into agreement with at a heart level that's going to determine the fruit that we see in our life? So let's say, so one by one, we go after each of these roots that are in our heart that there's a level of agreement that's been made. For instance, for judgment, someone might say, Well, I don't agree with this. Maybe not in your mind, or maybe you do, but at a heart level, is there any unforgiveness for someone that has judged you? That is a level of agreement with judgment. Are there any lies you've believed connected to judgment? That's also a level of agreement with judgment. And so we are just systematically, piece by piece, clipping all the ties of the root of judgment out of our life or any any stronghold we're talking about until all those ties are clipped. And then when they're all done, you ask, you know, we're just walking through this with the Holy Spirit. Is there anything else there? He says no. It's like, sweet, time to pull the whole root up. I break agreement with this generational stronghold of judgment and I pull the entire thing up, roots and all, and throw it at the foot of the cross. That's just the language I like to use. People can use different language, but you're breaking agreement in Jesus' name and pulling it up and getting it out. And that's when people start to begin to see a little bit of separation from this thing that's been in their life. And it's interesting how many times I've heard the same language from lots of different people. I'll I'll talk to them after we walk through something like this. I'll talk to them and they're like, you know what? That there's this feeling I've always had, or this thought I've always had, or this tendency to want to judge I've always had. And it's it's like, it's almost like it's still there, but it's not in me. It's now it's like it's separated from me. And I still like notice it, but it's separate. And at the time, now you can see it. Yes. Yeah. And then you see it's no longer like part of you. It is now separate from you. And but there's always a little bit of a period where it's like they're still aware of it, but it's separate. And then Ephesians 6 13 says, and having done all, stand firm. So there's a little bit of that time where it's like that little thing wants to come back in that nice, cozy place, but you just stand firm. And because we've done the done the necessary steps of breaking the lies of forgiveness, you stand firm, stand firm in the authority Christ has for you, stand firm in your salvation, stand firm in the word of God, the the name of Jesus, and it goes. It leaves. So yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

I love it. I love it so much. And you're absolutely right. Like I know exactly what you just described is once those roots. Oh, one other thing I do want to uh mention too is that um when I walk people through it, I say this exact same thing. I like to ask them, did you do you see the root ball at the foot of the cross? Because I say throw it at the foot of the cross. When you pull the root ball. And I've exactly and I've experienced this before too, where sometimes I pluck this thing out and I throw it to the foot of the cross and I see it right there. And I'm like, and sometimes like I'm like, I'm gonna set it on fire, I'm gonna put a sword through it, like all different. I'm a very visual person, so I can see different things. And sometimes there have been experiences where I'm trying to pull something out and I'm like, it's something is stuck. Yeah, it's not exactly coming. I'm glad you brought that up.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Yeah, yes. So sometimes people see, sometimes they just feel like it just feels stuck.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

It just doesn't feel like it's coming or whatever it is. Yeah. Yes, exactly. So keep keep working on it. If you feel that it's stuck, keep working. But I do like to ask, do you see it? Because if you don't fully see it, then it's like it could still be stuck. But how do you know that you've pulled it up? Is exactly what you said. You can feel it on the outside. And then here's one more thing I want to add too, because I've had I've experienced this and I've had other people mention it as well. It's like, I can feel this trying to come back because the enemy is going to stand out, you know, like it's gonna, it's gonna keep knocking and knocking and wait for you to open the door, wait for you to open the window so it can come back in. And so that's where you say you stand firm, right? You've you've got to stand firm. This isn't, this isn't just okay, I'm never gonna be tormented by the spirit again. It's you can come into partnership with it again. Watch your language, watch the words you're using, your behavior, because you can you can welcome that back in.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah. So if if it's not fully coming up, just ask the Lord what's what's left, what's keeping it stuck. Like he's there to help. And you might run into a might be someone to forgive you that you didn't think of, or there might be um just we might need to lay down down that defense mechanism. You might there's a few different things that you could do. Um, walk through, but he'll lead you. He'll lead you. He wants you free. He's more invested in our healing than we are. I tell people that all the time. Like he cares more than we do, and he's always there to help. So just keep, just keep going until it's it's all the way up. And then the thing is, is we're not we don't have time to get into this episode, into this, this episode, but we are starting to get into that thought of just different parts of our heart needing healing. And that can sometimes be what say you get that spirit of judgment out and you're standing firm, but you're not able to stand firm, something's caving. There's parts of your heart that still need further healing in order to be able to stand firm. And so we'll get into that in future episodes. But that's yeah, that's a good intro to strongholds. Yeah, okay. That's our episode. We'll see you next time then. Okay, see ya. All right, see you later.