There was a time in my life when I couldn’t understand why I kept fighting the same battles.
I loved Jesus.
I read my Bible.
I prayed.
I genuinely wanted to obey God.
Yet somehow, I still felt stuck.
It wasn’t until I was reading through the books of Kings that one repeated phrase finally stopped me in my tracks.
“He did what was right in the sight of the Lord... Nevertheless the high places were not removed.”
I remember reading those words over and over again and asking myself,
Why?
If these kings loved God...
Why didn’t they remove the high places?
The more I studied, the more I realized those words weren’t just describing Israel’s history.
They describe something we still struggle with today.
Partial surrender still leaves room for defeat.
The kings destroyed the obvious idols.
They tore down the temples of Baal.
They wanted to honor God.
But they stopped short of complete obedience.
The high places remained.
Those places became constant reminders that God’s people were trying to serve Him while still holding on to things He had asked them to surrender.
I don’t think many of us have literal high places today.
But I do think we often have hidden ones.
Sometimes they’re obvious.
More often they’re much harder to recognize.
The desire to control every outcome.
The need for other people’s approval.
Fear.
Comfort.
Success.
Anxiety.
Anything we quietly trust more than we trust God can become a high place in our hearts.
God has been teaching me something
Over the past several years, I’ve come to realize that many of our struggles don’t simply begin with wrong behavior.
They begin with misplaced trust.
We cling to things that make us feel secure instead of resting in the One who has already promised to care for us.
That’s why tearing down the high places isn’t merely about giving something up.
It’s about learning to trust Someone more.
Identity changes obedience
One of the greatest discoveries God has made real in my own heart is this:
When we truly understand who we are in Christ, obedience begins to flow from love instead of fear.
We stop trying to earn God’s acceptance because we already have it through Jesus.
We stop striving to prove ourselves because we already belong to Him.
The problem isn’t simply that we have idols.
It’s that we sometimes forget whose daughters we are.
When we remember who our Father is, those high places begin to lose their grip.
Every surrendered place becomes an invitation
Jesus didn’t come merely to forgive our sins.
He came to bring us into a relationship with Himself.
Every false refuge we surrender becomes another opportunity to discover that Christ truly is enough.
The more we know Him...
The less we need the things we’ve trusted instead of Him.
That’s where real freedom begins.
Not in trying harder.
Not in finding another strategy.
But in surrendering every part of our hearts to the One who has already overcome the world.
💜 If you’d like to read the full Bible study, including the Old Testament background from 2 Kings and a deeper look at the “high places,” I’ve expanded this teaching on my blog.
👉 Read the complete article here: If You Want to Stop Living in Defeat, Do This One Thing.
Want to go deeper into your identity in Christ?
I’ve gathered my Bible studies, journals, Scripture cards, prayer resources, and other tools into one place so you don’t have to hunt for them.
I think you’ll especially enjoy seeing how this theme runs throughout the history of Israel—and why it’s still so relevant for us today.