Tag Archives: spiritual warefare

July 13, 2026 · 5:54 AM

Stand Your Ground

To “stand your ground” means that you don’t back down and you maintain your boundaries. To do that you have to take action and be prepared to defend what is yours. You need to have a plan as to what you will do when those boundaries are tested. We’re encouraged to stand our ground emotionally and even physically, but what about spiritually? Have you thought about how to stand your ground when the enemy tries to take what God has given you? Sometimes we forget that we are in a spiritual battle that has physical ramifications. When the enemy comes in like a flood, we need to be prepared to stand our ground instead of cowering in fear or simply giving up what is rightfully ours.

In 1 Samuel 17, the Philistines camped on a hill with the valley of Elah below them, while Saul had the army of Israel camped on a hill across the valley. The valley and surrounding land belonged to Israel and was a major transportation route to get supplies to inland cities. While attempting to stand their ground, the Philistines sent out a giant names Goliath to intimidate Israel into giving up the land. For forty days they were afraid to stand their ground and defend the Promised Land God had given them. It wasn’t until a young shepherd boy named David came that the story changed. He knew who he was, but more importantly He had a clear understanding of God and the land they were standing on. Goliath came with a sword and spear, but David won the battle because he trusted in the name of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:14 tells us, “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness” (NLT). We are commanded to stand our ground when we are under spiritual attack or threatened by the enemy. The first thing we need to do is put on the belt of truth. The truth is that greater is He that is in you. The truth is you have God fighting for you. The truth is you are who God says you are. Combat the lies and attack of the enemy with truth first. Then put on the whole armor of God so you can stand against the strategies of the devil. God has equipped you to stand your ground no matter what weapons the enemy uses. No weapon formed against you will prosper when you stand strong and courageous the way David did. Armor up and stand strong in the Lord.

Photo by Frank Luciano on Unsplash

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March 12, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Dressed For Battle

The Landsnechts were German speaking mercenaries hired for battles in the 1400’s – 1700’s. You couldn’t miss them on the battlefield. They wore oversized, flats berets to battle with amulets and ostrich feathers attached to it. Their shirts were baggy with puffy sleeves of vibrant colors. Their pants were also colorful and baggy. They were a sight to be seen on the battlefield. Emperor Maximilian said they should be allowed to wear whatever they wanted to battle because their lives were so short and brutish. Could you imagine seeing someone wearing something so vibrant to a battle? These days wear camouflage and ghillie suits to blend in with the environment. What you wear to a battle should give you a competitive advantage rather than place a target on you.

In 1 Samuel 17 we see young David show up to the battlefield. The army is dressed for battle, but the other side has a formidable giant whose mouth was just as big. He called out to the army for 40 days taunting them and challenging them. No one rose to the occasion. Instead they cowered in fear. When David heard it, he got mad and wanted to fight. The king heard about it and decided to send him out to fight Goliath rather than to continue the stalemate. He placed his own armor on David, but he couldn’t walk with all of it on. Instead he grabbed his shepherd’s staff, five smooth stones and his slingshot to head out to the battle. The giant laughed that they would send someone out without armor and so seemingly I’ll prepared. Goliath walked toward David, but David ran to him, put a stone in the sling, killed the giant and then cut off his head with his own sword.

Ephesians 6:13 says, “So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground” (GNT). You and I are in a spiritual battle every day. What armor are you wearing for it? Do you even have any on? If we’re going to hold our ground we must wear the armor that God made for us. Someone else’s armor won’t do (see the story of the seven sons of Sceva). God gives us a helmet to protect our mind, a breastplate to protect our heart, a belt that reminds us of the truth over the lies, shoes that carry us to help others, a shield to protect us and a sword to advance. Without these, we’re I’ll prepared for the battle we’re in and can be easily defeated. Paul tells us to put on the armor now so don’t wait. He’s given you everything you need to stand through anything and hold your ground.

Photo by Emily Schultz on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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February 17, 2026 · 5:00 AM

Behind The Delay

I’m currently sitting at an airport waiting for my flight that has been delayed several times turning it into a red eye. I’m contemplating all the ramifications and inconveniences of the delay as it relates to my plans, my sleep and how it will affect me tomorrow. As much as I hate delays, I’ve learned there’s nothing I can do to change it. I can only control how I respond to my timetable and plans being disrupted. I’ve also learned that many times God is involved in the delay for one reason or another. Most of the time, I never get to see the reason for the delay, but sometimes He pulls back the curtain and reminds me that He’s in control and had my best interests at heart. He also reminds me that there is more going on than we can see.

In Daniel 10, he had been praying for understanding and clarity regarding the future. He had been in a time of mourning and fasting with no answer for three weeks. It was then that an angel appeared, pulled back the curtain and let him know what was going on behind the scenes. The angel said, “Daniel, don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayers ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in order to gain understanding. I have come in answer to your prayer” (GNT). He then explained what was going on in the unseen that caused the delay in the answer. He had been fighting principalities in the heavenlies to bring him an answer, and he would have to go back to fighting. He showed Daniel that sometimes delays are caused by our enemy opposing the answer God is sending.

When I’m faced with delays, or when I’m waiting on God to answer, I remember the words of Psalm 27:14. It says, “Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord” (AMP). It’s not easy, but keep waiting and trusting during the delay. What the angel said to Daniel is true for you. He loves you, your prayers have been heard and help is on the way. Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop trusting. Confidently expect the Lord to do what only He can do. Your delay is temporary. Your timetable may be disrupted, but God is on the move. Your breakthrough is coming. It’s just being fought for in places you can’t see.

Photo by Google Gemini

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January 13, 2021 · 5:52 AM

Fighting The Unseen

When I was around 16 years old, I had invited a kid I barely knew over to hang out for the day. My parents were gone, but had the foresight to have a family friend stay with us. We were in my room playing video games when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and they came back down looking different. He looked at me and said, “Fight me!” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I knew if we got into an altercation, I wasn’t going to make it. I responded in a whisper that I wouldn’t fight him. He got angry and began repeatedly asking me to fight him. Our family friend sensed something, opened the door, noticed I was upset and got me out of the room. I began praying for about 15 minutes while I was locked in the bathroom. When I came back out, he had changed back to normal.

Spiritual battles present themselves in the physical realm all the time. In 1 Samuel 17, Goliath was dressed for battle and called out to the Israelites to come fight him. They were terrified. How could anyone beat such a man? Saul offered money, his daughter, no taxes and more, but no one was willing to fight Goliath until David came around. He recognized it as a spiritual battle immediately. They tried to dress him up in Saul’s armor, give him a sword and instructions, but David knew better. In verses 45 and 47 David called out to Goliath, “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…And that this entire assembly may know that the LORD does not save with the sword or with the spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will hand you over to us” (AMP). David won the physical battle because he had won the spiritual battle first.

In your life, there may appear to be people who are attacking you, your character, your work, your calling or something else. Understand that it is more than likely a spiritual attack to produce fear, anger or doubt in you. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.” If you fight a spiritual battle in the physical, you will lose the battle that matters. Spend time in prayer, put on the full armor of God and fight on your knees praying against the spirit that is guiding the other person. The enemy will use whomever he can to immobilize you and to keep you from living the life God created you to live. Stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

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June 19, 2018 · 5:26 AM

Trusting God To Fight

If you’ve ever read through the books of Kings or Chronicles, then you know it’s the stories of the Kings of Israel. A lot of it is this king did what was right in God’s eyes or this king did not do what was right. One of the Kings who did what was right was Hezekiah. He cleaned out the Temple, purified it and began to have the people live God’s way again. A few verses later, an undefeated army started besieging towns, then turned their eyes to Jerusalem. Instead of panicking, he prepared for war and made things difficult for the opposing army. That’s when they sent a message to Hezekiah and Israel to try to win psychologically.

The message said things like, “Why would you have confidence when I’m the one attacking? Don’t you know I’m undefeated? Your king is lying to you giving you false hope. The gods of other nations couldn’t stop me, your God can’t either. Give up now. Why delay the inevitable?” Hezekiah countered to his people in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 by saying, “Be determined and confident, and don’t be afraid of the Assyrian emperor or of the army he is leading. We have more power on our side than he has on his. He has human power, but we have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles” (GNT). God fought for Israel and sent that army home in shame.

I tell you that story because many times our enemy comes against us psychologically telling us we’re not good enough, God doesn’t love us, it’s easier to just quit, we will never find happiness, we’re all alone, etc. He tells us enough so that he can change how we feel about God and affect our behaviors, but those are lies. Greater is He that is in you. He can and will fight off our enemy when we call on Him and are determined to trust Him no matter what everything appears to look like. Put God’s Word in your mind. Know who you are in Christ and you will be able to win the victory.

The above picture was drawn by my friend Becky Woods. You can purchase prints of it here.

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June 13, 2018 · 5:39 AM

Winning The Battle

In 2 Chronicles 14, the Ethiopians brought a million man army up against Israel. King Asa only had about half of that. He didn’t wait for the Battle to come to them either. He rallied his troops and went out to meet the Ethiopian army. After he got to the battlefield, he prayed, “O GOD, you aren’t impressed by numbers or intimidated by a show of force once you decide to help: Help us, O GOD; we have come out to meet this huge army because we trust in you and who you are. Don’t let mere mortals stand against you!” (MSG) The next verse says that the Lord defeated the Ethiopian army right in front of Asa.

As I read this story, I was reminded that many times when we look at the battles we face, we are outnumbered, outgunned, and often surrounded with seemingly no way out. I’m sure Asa’s scouts told him how big the Ethiopian army was, but he still showed up for battle. Half of any your victory is simply showing up for the battle. When everything inside screams run, we’ve got to show up or we’ll miss seeing what God can and will do. If we want to be victorious, we can’t run from our problems. We’ve got to face them head on.

The other thing I was reminded of is that our battles are not our own. Asa fully trusted God to bring the victory. He didn’t look at the battlefield through his eyes. He saw it through God’s eyes. When he prayed, he already saw the victory because he trusted in what God would do. You and I need to change the lenses that we look at things through. Victory isn’t brought about by our might or our power, but by God’s Spirit. You shouldn’t be intimidated by how big your problems are. They should be intimidated by how big our God is. Show up, pray and watch God fight for you.

Photo by Chuanchai Pundej on Unsplash

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May 9, 2018 · 5:52 AM

Winning Inner Battles

God does this thing with me where He will wake me up in the middle of the night and want me to pray for certain people. On one occasion, God kept waking me up to pray for this individual. Early the next morning, God said, “Send them a text.” He had a very specific message for me to send. I answered back, “Seriously? It’s weird to text that to a person I barely know.” God kept at it until finally I sent the text. A few minutes later, I got a long text back from that person that confirmed what God was speaking to me.

They had been fighting a hidden battle on the inside, but on the outside they were pretending that everything was fine. The enemy lies to us and tells us to fight our battles that way because he knows that when we agree in prayer with others, God multiplies our strength exponentially. You know the verse that says, “If one can out one thousand to flight, then two can put ten thousand to flight”? There’s power in agreement of prayer so the enemy often attacks us on the inside with the lie that we need to cover it up.

The apostle Paul understood that we often get attacked on the inside. In Ephesians 3:16 he wrote, “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit” (NLT). Each of us need inner strength to withstand the attack from our enemy who tries to crush us. We need to remember that greater is He that is within us! You and I don’t have to fight our inner battles alone. God has unlimited resources to help us fight back. Tell a friend who will pray for you and with you until victory is won.

Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash

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April 28, 2017 · 5:37 AM

The Keys To Victory 


In just about every situation you face in life, sports or in the spiritual realm, to be an overcomer, you’re going to need the keys to victory. One of the first keys to victory is to have a plan or strategy you can execute on. Do you know hat you will do in certain situations before you’re in them? The second key to victory is to be well conditioned. Paul said physical exercise is good, but to be spiritual fit is even more important. Are you exercising your faith daily? Another key to victory is to go on the offensive. Are you advancing or are you always in a state of retreat?

You and I are in the Army of the Lord and we need to understand that victory is not just given to us. The people you know who walk in victory are the ones who put in the time behind the scenes to grow their walk with the Lord. They study the Bible and pray daily as well. God made us to be victorious and has given us authority over the enemy. We need to know what our keys to victory are and then do them consistently.

Here are some Bible verses on victory. 

1. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].
ROMANS 8:37 AMP

2. I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
Psalms 62:1 NLT

3. Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust GOD to bring victory.
Proverbs 21:31 MSG

4. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
1 Corinthians 15:57 GNT

5. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
1 John 5:4 NLT

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