In my last post, I encouraged you to identify any strongholds you may have. And then to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to determine the root cause asking the question, “why did I find it necessary to build this fortress?”
Armed with this information, it is time to create a strategy to demolish that stronghold and be set free! Jesus Christ came to set us free from fear, shame, and guilt. God’s first command in Genesis 2:16 to man was to eat freely from all I have provided you. I wonder if we focus so much on the “thou shalt not” in Scripture we miss the beautiful words of love, “eat freely from My provision”?
In Psalm 18: 34-45, David provides us with many clues to help us engage the enemy – the fortress we have built. Within this passage, we find teaching both sides of truth: my responsibility to demolish and God’s promise of demolition!
What was David’s battle plan?
He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds and sustains me; Your gentleness, Your gracious response, when I pray, makes me great. You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure so that my feet will not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed. I shattered them so they could not rise; they fell, wounded under my feet. For You have encircled me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me in defeat, and I silenced and destroyed those who hated me. They cried for help, but there was no one to save them. They cried even to the Lord, but He did not answer them. Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets. You have rescued me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as the head of the nations; a people whom I have not known serve me. As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me; foreigners feign obedience to me. Foreigners lose heart and come trembling out of their strongholds. (my paraphrase)
David’s strategy to destroy his strongholds guarantees victory! Here is what I learned from David’s plan. I am sure there are other insights you can see as you read this passage; please share those in the comments.
David says that God trains his hands for war. Are you in training? Are you willing to take the time to do the work of training your mind in warfare?
Scripture has many references to being a soldier in the Lord’s army. There are many great books about the training of men to secure their place as a member of the Roman army. One of my favorite books is written by Rick Renner, ‘Dressed to Kill, A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Armor.’
From this book, here is some background information about the training of the Roman soldier, which will help us understand what David means by training his hands for war.
What was a soldier’s function in Roman times?
First and foremost, it was to be in the practice of warring, fighting, killing, and conquering. In addition, a soldier’s function also referred to the intense training required of every Roman soldier, including constant drills, military exercises, and deliberately imposed hardships.
The training regimen for recruits in the Roman army included marching, leaping, swimming, sword practice, drills, and other forms of military exercises. All of these exercises were essential. Only after the recruits proved their worthiness through this period of training – not only in physical and mental endurance but also in courage – did they receive “the military mark,” a permanent mark branded with a hot iron on every soldier’s hand – possibly an eagle or a symbol of the soldier’s legion or unit.
Why would swimming be a necessary skill for any soldier? In pursuing an army, the soldier is often duty-bound to swim through the rivers, as there are no bridges to pass over to the other side.
Swimming across otherwise impassable rivers takes determination and sheer courage! It is a picture of “enduring hardness” and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Every young soldier, without exception, was taught to swim, telling us that these skills do not come naturally to most of us. We must be instructed and trained in the ways of warfare if we want to succeed in battle. Are you willing?
Concerning military training, Flavius Vegetius Renatus wrote in his book Concerning Military Manners (late 4th Century AD), “We find that the Romans owed the conquest of the world to no other cause than continual military training, exact observance of discipline in the camps, and unwearied cultivation of other arts of war. They thoroughly understood the importance of hardening their recruits by continual practice and training them to every maneuver in line and action. Nor were they less strict in punishing idleness and slothfulness.” You may be thinking that a great deal was expected of their soldiers, and you are correct…. this is precisely the point! The commanders’ high expectations and intense training of their troops laid the foundation for future victory.
Like the Roman soldiers, you must endure hardship (trials, suffering) through continual practice and training in every possible maneuver against the enemy.
You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Because the Roman army was so committed to warfare, Roman soldiers continually practiced combat arts. One primary daily exercise was sword practice, which the soldiers engaged in both in the morning and afternoon. The various pieces of weaponry were very, very heavy. Some scholars estimate that the weight of the armor was up towards 44 pounds plus a backpack carrying his rations and any tools needed to serve the Roman officers. 
Imagine how physically fit Roman soldiers had to be to carry his equipment.
Are you fit to fight the battle?
If you want to walk in the whole armor of God and function effectively on the battlefield, you must be spiritually fit.
Looking back at Psalm 18:34-45, notice that David not only trains, but he prays. As a result, what did he experience? Listen to how David describes his victory
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed. I shattered them so that they could not rise; I silenced and destroyed those who hated me. Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets.
WOW!!! I do believe David demolished his enemy! And we, too, can experience the same victory.
We can silence those voices we hear in our head; those voices that want to control us by taking the easy way out – to submit to them.
It is also essential to recognize God’s promises to His soldiers – or what will God do for us if we are willing to train and fight the battle? From the same passage (Psalm 18: 34-45), look at God’s promises to David as he wages war against the enemy.
1. God provides me with His weapons to fight the battle.
2. He answers my prayers to help me fight the battle, by upholding and sustaining me through the battle.
3. As I take each step, fight each battle, God makes my steps secure – I am ensured of being victorious.
4. Fighting the battle, empowered by the Holy Spirit, my enemy is defeated. God silences those voices in my head, the habits, the behaviors that desire to dominate me.
5. He rescues me from the arguments, human reasoning, high and lofty imaginations in my mind. They cry out to God for help to maintain their position, but He does not hear them.
6. As soon as my strongholds hear the Word of God, quoting Scripture, singing praise and worship songs, they lose heart, and they give up the fight. We experience the victory – not the agony of defeat!
Our responsibility is to fully and regularly immerse ourselves in all the disciplines accompanying warfare and undergo constant drills, military exercises, hardship, and training.
What are those training exercises that help build up our inner being and better equip us for warfare?
Here are just a few examples.
- Regularly attend services where the Word is taught and preached by the anointing of the Holy Spirit – in person or online.
- Listen to, as well as read, resources that will develop you spiritually.
- Daily engage in scriptural, spiritual warfare by recognizing when you are making allowances for the flesh.
- Study and stand on the Word; apply what the Lord teaches you.
- Participate in small group Bible studies helping you to connect and bond with like-minded believers.
- Cultivate a deeper intimacy with the Lord in your prayer, and devotional time through journaling.
As the new year, 2022, launches, ask yourself: What new strategies do I need to implement to demolish the strongholds that are holding me back from experiencing all that God desires that I experience – abundant, overflowing joy, new opportunities, new possibilities, the life I want to live?
Do not hesitate – identify those thoughts and mannerisms that are holding you hostage. God warns us that if we do not identify them and demolish them, they will grow stronger, causing us to miss the opportunities and experiences that He desires for us.
I love the story of David and Goliath – the Philistine giant that the army of Israel feared and refused to fight. (1 Samuel 17) The Word describes Israel’s reaction this way: the men of Israel all saw the man (Goliath); they fled from him and were very frightened. (v. 24) They were willing to give Goliath all he wanted – all the ground God had given them in the Promised Land. Goliath was around 9’10” tall, and Bible scholars estimate that the helmet he wore weighed around 100 pounds! The iron spearhead weighed approximately 12 pounds. You have probably never faced a human matching Goliath’s description, but I am sure that we can identify with one another that sometimes it seems that our ‘giants’ are built like Goliath! But this did not stop David.
Then David said to Goliath, the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. (v. 45) David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck down the Philistine and killed him, but there was no sword in David’s hand. So he ran and stood over the Philistine, grasped his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion was dead, they fled. (v. 50-51)
Not only must we identify our enemy, the stronghold, the giants we allow to roam through our thoughts, securing their ground, but we must also visualize victory. The victory is already won – choose to walk in victory.
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. (Deuteronomy 20:4)
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
What does a victory feel like – look like?
For me, I envision myself crossing the finish line wearing garments of praise.
For those deeply embedded strongholds, I visualize myself holding the sword of the Spirit,
which is symbolic of the Word of God, and literally chopping off the head of the stronghold – severing it forever from my thoughts!
Rather than trusting in your own created strongholds, choose God as your stronghold, your fortress – the One where you can take shelter from the pain, storm, hurt.
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. Nahum 1:7
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2