Strongholds: Preparing for Battle
Strongholds are mentioned numerous times in the Bible, yet in modern-day times we rarely hear this word. What is a stronghold? Why were they used back then? How does a twenty-first century Jesus-follower respond to this concept?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 encourages us that, ‘ALL Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work’ (ESV). So, with that in mind, we can see that strongholds really do deserve more of our attention. As we delve into them today, let’s look for nuggets of gold and pearls of wisdom to guide us in our own lives.
The word stronghold is mentioned a bunch of times in the Old Testament and just once in the New Testament, with a distinct shift in their purpose seen as we traverse from one to the other. In a sense, Old Testament strongholds mostly help us to understand with our natural eyes what this somewhat unfamiliar word is all about, while the New Testament purely demonstrates the application of the principles of strongholds in our spiritual lives. It’s a bit like Jesus and his use of parables - He understood that we gain deeper spiritual understanding when we can relate things to experiences in this earthly sphere. I love that! He is the ultimate teacher. In a sense, Jesus says, “Get your head around this… and then I’ll show you that (something greater!)”. So loving, gracious and perceptive of the way in which we learn.
THE NATURAL
In biblical times, wars were plentiful and many peoples’ lives were at stake on a daily basis. So they built fortified cities (or strongholds) in which to dwell and keep themselves safe (Judges 6:2 and 9:46, Zechariah 9:3, 1 Samuel 22:5, 23:14, 19, 29 and 24:22, 2 Samuel 5:17 and 23:14 and 1 Chronicles 11:16). Impenetrable, lofty walls offered protection from invading enemies. Guards on high alert kept watch from towers atop of the walls, ready to sound the alarm and have an army spring into defensive action. All very mediaeval castles with moats and nightwatchmen with flaming arrows-like, am I right?! If we were to use this picture to create a definition of natural strongholds (that is those that operate in the world where we see, hear and touch things around us), we could say that they are a physical place which keeps its inhabitants safe from harm. This can absolutely be true, however it’s not the only meaning.
THE SUPERNATURAL
In addition to natural strongholds, or safe places, there is a Godly spiritual stronghold who guards our hearts, souls and spirits. Simply defined, we have an incredibly loving Father God who has a strong hold of us, sheltering us and offering Himself as our refuge when we encounter spiritual warfare (2 Samuel 22:3, Nahum 1:7, Psalms 9:9, 18:2, 27:1, 37:39, 94:22
and 144:2, Proverbs 10:29 and Joel 3:16).
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are in a spiritual battle (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Just as soldiers in armies prepare for themselves before heading out to battle, so must we. For the remainder of today’s post, I’m going to look at our preparation, and next month we’ll shine a light on waging war.
Fortunately today, most of us do not live in a state of our homes being under siege. Nevertheless, the Bible doesn’t speak of strongholds as being contained within ‘a certain period of time’ or ‘particular circumstance’, but rather He cautions us to equip ourselves so that we can be protected and strengthened in our spiritual lives (Moreover, I’d say that if our spiritual lives are healthy, our physical lives will be easier to navigate too, even if chaos surrounds us).
So, how do we prepare for this spiritual battle we find ourselves in?
ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS
Firstly, we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior (wondering about this… check out these verses to learn more: Romans 3:10-18, 23; 5:1, 8; 8:1, 38-39; and 10:9, 13). We can pray what is known as a ‘salvation prayer’ - basically just saying that we choose Jesus. We submit our lives to him, surrendering our own will and way. We place Him first in our lives and in doing so, we make God our stronghold, rather than relying on earthly places, people or things to give us security.
Yes, that’s right… God promises that when we choose to live for Him, He becomes our stronghold.
Isaiah 25:4a ‘For You (God) have been a stronghold for the helpless, A stronghold for the poor in his distress, A shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat…’ (AMP).
Isaiah 26:1, 3-4 ‘In that day [(Judgement Day - see Isaiah 25 for more on this)], everyone in the land of Judah [(all of us who’ve accepted Christ)] will sing this song: Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. …You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock’ (NLT).
PRAISE HIM
If you’ve heard Bethel’s song, ‘Raise a hallelujah’, you’ll be familiar with the lyrics, ‘My weapon is a melody’. It’s true… when we prepare to fight a spiritual battle, praise and worship is powerful. It does a few things:
it puts Jesus first in our hearts and minds - that is, in His rightful place,
It declares His truth, shutting down the lies of the enemy (and more often than not, we need reminding of this truth ourselves because it’s easy to get caught up in circumstances!), and
It reminds us, the battle is spiritual - although we might be facing something tricky with Charlee Challenging from the office, it’s not really her that’s the issue, it’s the devil who is trying to bring us down which is his #1 mission (John 10:10).
Isaiah 60:18b ‘…you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise’ (NIV).
Psalm 32:7 ‘You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance’ (NIV).
Psalms 8:2 ‘Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger’ (NIV).
GET DRESSED FOR BATTLE
You’ll never see a soldier heading out to war in their gym gear or Sunday Best. No. They know that they are up for a battle and they need to dress appropriately.
Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us to put on the ‘Armour of God’. This isn’t a physical outfit but a spiritual one. Each piece is purposeful, in protecting us spiritually. So, what is this spiritual fashion made up of?
An awareness that it’s God’s strength and His mighty power than brings victory, not our own (verse 10)
Belt of truth (verse 14)
Breastplate of righteousness (verse 14)
Feet fitted with the gospel of peace (verse 15)
Shield of faith (verse 16)
Helmet of salvation (verse 17)
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) (verse 17)
Prayer (being alert, persistent and supportive of your fellow fighters (other believers who are also in this battle) (verse 18-20)
The thing about war is that soldiers don’t get armoured up, receive their orders… then head out for brunch with a few friends (as nice as that would be!) No, they actually take to the battlefield. The same goes for us. A life lived for Jesus doesn’t mean that it’s one that’s all rainbows and butterflies. We still experience trials and challenges. We live in a fallen world, and we experience pain and heartache. God doesn’t remove us from the world. He strengthens us to live in it. He gives us hope for the future. He gives us a place (Himself) to run and hide when it all becomes too much (which it will at times - we are human after all).
OVER TO YOU, TROOPS…
Time to take stock. Where are you at in your preparedness for the battle you find yourself in? Have you walked away from Jesus or let your faith become a bit luke-warm? Do you need to recommit your life to Him? Has the Word of God taken a back-seat in your life, and you need to make reading and studying your Bible a priority again? Do you need to offer up your praise and worship (whether you feel like it or not) to give yourself a renewed perspective? Do you need to ask for Jesus’ to strengthen you, rather than trying to do everything all by yourself? Is there sin in your life that you need to deal with so that you can walk in righteousness again? Is there someone you need to make peace with or a situation in which you need to be the peace bringer, amongst the chaos, fear and pain? Do you need to trust the Lord again in an area where you’ve come to doubt Him and His faithfulness? Does your prayer life need a revamp?
Beautiful ones, there’s no shame in admitting that you need to address any of these issues in your life. Truth be told, we all find ourselves in these places. It’s exactly where God’s grace comes.
What’s more… it’s the nutrients from manure that help gorgeous flowers grow in a garden, and it’s the growth that comes through surrendering ourselves to God and allowing Him to mould, shape and renew us, that His glory is revealed.
Today, sweet one, I encourage you to take to God in prayer whatever He’s placed upon your heart. Give Him room to work. Allow Him to change you. Let Him prepare and dress you for battle. You might feel surrounded by challenges, but know this, He’s already won the victory! Michael W. Smith’s song, ‘Surrounded (Fight my Battles)’ speaks so well into this. xx
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison loves Jesus and is passionate about her relationship with Him. She desires to encourage singles to live purposefully and to find their hope in Christ. Alison resides in sunny Queensland, Australia, and enjoys travel, going on adventures, spending time with family and friends, taking in the beauty of the world and reading good books. For more of her writing go to www.girlgrowing.com where she writes about her journey as a girl growing in faith, love, hope and grace.