Rebecca Inglis - January 26, 2020
Courageous Thinking
A ‘pet fence’ or ‘fenceless boundary’ is an electronic system designed to keep a domestic animal within a set of predefined boundaries without the use of a physical barrier. A typical invisible fence transmits a radio signal, and the pet wears a lightweight collar that emits a sensory cue, such as a warning sound, when the pet nears a boundary. If the warning is ignored, and the pet crosses beyond the boundary of the ‘fence’, the pet receives an additional signal, such as a mild electric shock. Over time, that causes the animal to adapt its behaviour and remain within the boundary. Eventually, the whole system can be switched off, the collar removed, and still the dog will never cross that line. Why? Because in his mind, the dog is a prisoner locked by this barrier. He is facing a stronghold. A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought, built into one's thought life. Like animals, we can become prisoners trapped by deception. Rather than ‘Courageous Thinking’, rather than being on guard and having a sharp mind, our thoughts can be more like, “I can never go beyond this point. I can never have an intimate relationship with God. I could never be good enough. I could never have a good relationship with other people. I can never change. I will never be anything but a failure! I will never be anything but addicted. This is just the way I am.” Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
