You know, it’s pretty wild when you think about it.

Massive elephants, strong enough to uproot trees, get held back by a tiny rope.

When they’re little, they’re chained up with something they can’t possibly break. They try and try, but no dice. Eventually, they just give up. Fast forward to when they’re grown – someone swaps that chain for a flimsy rope, but the elephant doesn’t even try to escape.

In its mind, if it couldn’t break free as a baby, it sure can’t now.

Psychologically, this is called learned helplessness.

Conditioning, rather than physical restraint, keeps adult elephants from escaping.

Circling the Stake

Why am I sharing this?

Something happened this week that triggered my thinking.

I found my mind circling negative thoughts and accusatory presumptions.

Round and round and round and… yep, round and…

Like that elephant tied to a tiny stake in the ground.

So I figured, since this is futile thinking, I need to follow the rope.

It’s no good tugging at the string, you have to pull up the stake.

I knew that somewhere in the past the enemy must have driven a stake into my thinking and tied me to a false identity in a certain arena.

Identity Stakes

See, in life, satan seeks to drive stakes in our thinking that tie us to diminished thoughts about who we are. Often through traumatic experiences and words of diminishment.

We tie our sense of identity to these stakes.

Stakes of rejection, shame, misrepresentation, humiliation, fear… his wicked stake bag is not lacking.

“You’re not good”

“You’ll never be anything”

“You always fail”

“You’re dirty”

“You’re worthless”

“You’re an imbecile”

By nature, they puncture the surface, fix themselves, and the pain of the lie leaves us sensitive and defensive.

In later life, events trigger amplified feelings that prod those sore points. Instead of just a word spoken, or a thoughtless action, a minor infringement feels like a direct attack on your identity.

Follow the rope

When you’re circling those stakes, following the rope leads to the place they were originally driven in.

Anger and indignation often lead back to rejection.

Guilt and self-abuse often lead back to shame.

Follow the rope.

Pull up the stake.

The term “stake in the ground” is a phrase popularized after the Civil War. Stakes were used to mark the boundaries of homesteads.

The phrase “to pull up stakes” means to move on.

It’s time to move on. You have a new home, a new identity.

Secure your heart and mind to the glorious truths of who you are in Christ.

Initially, it might feel futile, but God’s Word has the answer and no lie of the devil can ultimately stand against its power. Truth trumps a lie every time. Pound these truths into your thinking as you would a stake into hard ground. Drive them deep, child of God.

Download this free booklet and drive deep your new Identity Stakes.