For You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. Psalm 71:3 Since my youth, you say? But my acceptance of the Lord came at a later time in life. That may be the case, as it is with me.

However, the Sovereign Lord was there when all of us were living our years of youth. He was there during our days of greenness of life, our irresponsible acts, our times of rebelliousness, our tryouts for adulthood and all other follies of childhood and youth. If necessary, our Sovereign Lord can take us back to those times and show us the roots of the strongholds that hold us in bondage.

By doing that, He can show us that their effects have been washed away, as far as the east is from the west. So have we all asked Him privately to do such for us? Have we asked that He replace those haunting memories with new experiences in Him?

I've often wondered why I was one of those who got saddled with my one particular strongholds. As He deals with me concerning them, however, I'm beginning to hear His still small voice that says to my inner man, "I'm using all of these things to show how much I love you."