And he said, ‘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 and my refuge. My savior, thou dost save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.’” — 2 Samuel 22:2-4

Soldiers are trained to fight. In the midst of battle, they take the enemy head-on and move forward until they are given the command to retreat. Tired? They fight. Frustrated? They fight. Confused? They fight. Because there is a real enemy who doesn’t care about any of that. They fight for their lives.

Children of God, we are soldiers in the army of the Lord, and our job is that of full-time soldiers.

Hebrews 10:39 says, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” In other words, we are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life. Why? Because we are soldiers in the army of the Lord.

As saints of God, we don’t have to draw our weapons and pull the trigger. We now have another war going on, and it’s the battle for our minds. We can talk real big and look like we have it together on the outside, but all the while the devil is winning in our minds. How else do you lie every day and not call yourself a liar? Cuss every day and say you don’t use profanity? Walk, talk and look depressed and not understand that you are depressed? How are you winning but steadily going in the wrong direction? Because the enemy has tricked you into thinking that everything is all right when you really need to run down to the altar and give your life to Christ. It’s easier to fight the enemy than it is to rescue a hostage taken by the enemy, because if you resist him he’s got to flee. We’ve constantly got to be on the lookout and learn how to win the battle. No warriors go into battle running their mouths, but instead should be focused on the fight.

After the death of Moses, Joshua was dealing with the weight of responsibility of leading God’s people. God gave Joshua a simple word to help him along the way: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). Full-time soldiers, continue to fight!

Hayes is the pastor of New Day Community Church and president of the United Ministerial Alliance.