In a similar way, David wrote about warfare and the need for endurance. He declared that God was the one who trained his hands for war (Psalm 144:1), and with God’s help, he could advance against a troop (Psalm 18:29). Paul’s writings tended to focus more on the spiritual battle as the cause of the opposition he was experiencing, as seen in 2 Corinthians 10:3–4: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh.” In a similar way, David knew the ultimate cause behind war and hardship was the evil human heart that was present because of the Serpent’s temptation in the garden (Genesis 3). Though he did not specifically address Satan and his demons, he wrote about the wicked and their schemes to destroy (Psalms 10, 52), accusers (Psalm 109), and the darkness of the human heart (Psalm 51).
Both men learned to be strong in the Lord through the Spirit’s disciplines of prayer and meditation on the Word, and yet both experienced life-threatening blows that knocked them down. Paul was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned (2 Corinthians 11:23–28), and constantly persecuted for preaching the Gospel. David was hunted down, mocked, and betrayed repeatedly – even by his own family. Like Paul, he was in danger “from bandits, in danger from [his] fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country…and in danger from false believers” (2 Corinthians 11:26).
Yet, as many times as both men were knocked down, they were not knocked out. Paul described this miraculous and supernatural ability to remain in the good fight of faith clearly in 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, saying, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” Though David was looking forward in faith to the coming of Christ, and Paul was looking back to his finished work on the cross, both men found their strength in the Spirit of the Lord. They both carried around in their body the death of Christ, so that the life of Christ would be revealed in them (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Struck down, but not destroyed
Though Paul and David were giants of the faith, I have learned that the spiritual battles I face often knock me down in similar ways—on a much smaller scale, of course. Throughout 37 years as a Christ follower, I’ve faced many battles – some much more intense than others. The most difficult by far were the first few years as a believer when God was completely redirecting my steps and path from the pursuit of fleshly goals to the purposes and plans He had for me. This involved radical changes in my career, friendships, and how I spent my time and money. Because my new life in Christ was so drastically different from my old life in Adam, and I had a fresh zeal to share the Gospel wherever I went, I was often opposed by others and mocked for my faith. And because I did not have someone to weekly disciple me in the reality of the spiritual battle, I became very discouraged and depressed, thinking it was an unnatural phenomenon.
Other seasons involved persecution in ministry, difficulties in my family and marriage, and health issues. During some of these times, I began to get battle-weary and shrink back in fear. The spiritual war became so severe I wanted to move from the middle to the rear lines, and better yet, back to camp, where I could get some sleep and only hear news from the battlefield.
Welcome to Battlefield!
I’ll never forget the day three years ago when, after long hours of driving from Phoenix, we finally arrived at our new home… in Battlefield, MO. My husband and I had been studying and writing about the spiritual battle, and this was a topic that I often taught about in my classes. To live in an actual city with the name “Battlefield” felt apropos, since this seemed to be a major developing theme in our lives and our new mission work in the Middle East. I smiled to myself as I studied the sign and thought how awesome this was. At the same time, I had a deep sense in my spirit that the name was there as a gift from God to remind me of something I tended to forget, especially living in a comfortable home in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood—that I was in the midst of an epic spiritual battle and needed to stand strong in his gifted armor.
After three months in our new home and mission training trips to South Africa and Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, the spiritual battle heated up like never before in my life. I joked and said that I now felt like I had a bull’s eye on my back, which seemed even more true when I injured a disc and was homebound for several months. I then went through a series of physical hardships that spanned over two years, culminating in a drug-resistant infection that weakened my immune system and left me homebound again – this time for five months. Much of our savings was exhausted on medical bills, we lost significant financing for our trips, and it was clear we had been knocked down. I no longer thought about going on mission trips or sharing the Gospel—or doing anything that could bring hardship or persecution. Instead, I began finding ways to avoid the battle and hide out at home, where I felt safe. My prayers went from the offensive to the defensive, asking God to protect me and keep me from all harm, rather than asking for ways to go out in His Gospel peace to spread the Good News.
Like waking up from a dream, the Spirit has been reminding me through the Word of the need to get back up again so that I can continue fighting the good fight of faith. He is encouraging me with promises about the purpose of my life here—to live for His glory, to lose my life in building His kingdom—rather than loving it and trying to preserve it (Matthew 16:25). It’s been a slow journey back to the battleground, where I’m facing fears of the troubles that lie ahead, having vivid memories of some of the suffering and losses, and often tempted to turn back and run for cover. But God is helping me to move forward slowly each day as I count the cost of what it means to lay down my life for the Gospel.
There is a great certainty that I will get knocked down repeatedly, but God assures me by His Word that though I may go down, I will not go out—nothing can separate me from His love, which has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit, and no one can snatch me from His hand (Romans 5:5, 8:38-39; John 10:28-30). I may experience a myriad of losses, but God promises that He is with me to help me to stand firm until the end—the day He has foreordained that I come to be with Him forever.” In Isaiah 41:10 he declares, “I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
Until then, I fight on—not in my own strength, but in the strength of His might and in the very armor of Christ that he wore when he came down to rescue and redeem his people and destroy the power of sin, death and Satan. Like Paul and David, he promises to train my hands for battle and lead me in triumph: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests in us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place" (2 Corinthians 2:14). And when I fall, I will get back up again -- because “The one who calls [me] is faithful, and he will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
