Joel Leggett releases 21-day devotional on breaking spiritual strongholds

Senior Pastor Joel Leggett of COR Church Atlanta has released Strongholds: Breaking the Lies That Keep You Bound, a 21-day devotional aimed at Christians who keep battling the same patterns despite active church life. The book frames insecurity, fear, lust, and shame as deeper spiritual strongholds and is available exclusively on the author's website.

Why it matters: - Strongholds targets a common gap in church life: people who worship, serve, and pray but still feel trapped by recurring struggles. - The devotional argues that lasting change requires more than behavior management. - Leggett frames freedom as a daily practice, not a one-time moment.

What happened: - Pastor Joel Leggett released Strongholds: Breaking the Lies That Keep You Bound, a 21-day Christian devotional. - The book is written for Christians who keep battling the same patterns even while staying active in church. - Strongholds is available exclusively on the author's website.

The details: - The devotional is organized into four sections across 21 days: Agreement, Bondage, Exposure and Surrender, and Freedom. - Each day includes a morning teaching, a night reflection, and a closing Demolition Prayer. - Leggett uses stories from Saul, Nicodemus, Ananias and Sapphira, and the rich young ruler to explore how insecurity, performance, deception, misplaced trust, and anxiety take root. - The book draws a distinction between a struggle and a stronghold: a struggle fights sin, while a stronghold starts making peace with it. - Leggett says many strongholds live in the lives of people who genuinely love God. - He says recurring battles with insecurity, fear, lust, or shame often go deeper than outward behavior. - Leggett says, "A stronghold is a lie you've believed for so long that it has started shaping how you live." - Leggett traces the book's origin to the summer of 2017. - He says the turning point came while he was in his Toyota Corolla on a day date with his wife, Tiffany, when a call about advancing to a second-round teaching pastor interview moved him to tears. - Leggett later identified insecurity as the force shaping his marriage, parenting, and leadership. - He says, "I could preach freedom while still having areas in my own life where I wasn't free." - Leggett says freedom requires discipline as well as prayer. - He says he was praying for confidence while still feeding comparison. - He says, "You cannot continually feed what you are asking God to starve." - Leggett says churches sometimes present freedom as an altar moment instead of a way of living. - He says the daily devotional format is meant to encourage reflection rather than straight-through reading. - The book closes with the idea that freedom is not perfection overnight, but becoming less controlled by what once mastered you.

Between the lines: - The book reflects a broader pastoral message: spiritual growth can be undermined by hidden beliefs, not only visible habits. - Leggett's personal story gives the devotional a confessional tone and positions him as both teacher and participant in the struggle. - The format suggests the book is designed for repeated use, not just one-time consumption.

What's next: - Readers who want the devotional can access it through Leggett's website. - The book's daily structure suggests it may be used as a three-week personal study or church-wide discussion guide. - Leggett's emphasis on daily reflection signals an ongoing focus on practical discipleship rather than a single launch moment.

The bottom line: - Strongholds centers on a simple claim: freedom starts when believers identify the lies shaping their lives and replace them with disciplined, ongoing surrender.