The story of Joseph the prisoner becoming Joseph the prime minister teaches us that we can rise above the circumstances, overcome the challenges, and live in the fullness of our God-given potential. His journey was a long one, and yours may be too. But if you don’t take the first step, you’ll remain stuck where you are. Sometimes your ‘stronghold’ was established early in life. Family pain is the deepest pain, because it’s inflicted so early and involves people who should have been trustworthy. You were too young to process the mistreatment. You didn’t know how to defend yourself. Your dad, mum, uncle, big brother – they towered over you, usually in size, always in rank. When they judged you falsely, you believed them. All this time you were operating on faulty data: ‘You’re stupid…slow…dumb like your father…fat like your mother…’ Decades later those voices of defeat still echo in your subconscious. But they don’t have to! ‘For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.’ Use the ‘reject and repeat’ strategy and you’ll win the victory in your thinking. When negative, fearful, guilt-ridden, inferior, condemning thoughts arise, reject them and begin to repeat what God says about you in His Word. As God’s Word comes to life within you, your old thoughts will begin to die and lose their control over you. Today pull down that stronghold and let your healing begin.