Christians don't want to be warriors. They want a comfortable, easy life. They want to lie back, take it easy, and go on a spiritual vacation. But that's not what we as believers are called to do.

We're called to "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12). We are an army and we are at war, "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).

God has given us spiritual weapons that are "mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Cor. 10:4). He has given us His own armor (see Eph. 6:10-18). In other words, He has equipped us to be spiritual soldiers in the army of the Lord.

Now, in every army there are good soldiers and sloppy soldiers. There are soldiers who win battles and conquer enemy territory, and there are soldiers who fail and lose ground. I want to be a good soldier for the Lord, don't you? I want to drive the devil back and advance the kingdom of God.

Paul's Example
The Apostle Paul was that kind of soldier. He was a man of victory. He triumphed in every circumstance. The devil tried to stop him again and again with persecutions, beatings, and trouble of every kind. But Paul kept right on marching in victory, preaching the gospel, healing the sick, working miracles and building the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eventually, Paul was put in prison and in chains. Imagine how terrible the conditions in prison must have been in those days! No doubt, the devil expected that to stop Paul - but it didn't. Instead of lying down and feeling sorry for himself, Paul used his time in prison to write most of the New Testament. Prison didn't even slow him down.

Just look at the victorious words Paul wrote when his life on this earth was through: "The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:6-8).

We have the same Savior Paul had. We're filled with the same Holy Spirit. We even have the words he wrote to Timothy, his precious son in the faith, just before he departed this life - instructions that Paul knew would enable Timothy to be a victorious soldier of the Cross just as he had been.

What were those instructions? You can find one of them in 2 Timothy 2:3. There Paul says, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

Notice Paul didn't say, "If hard times come, endure them." He simply said, "Endure hardness." There are no "ifs" about it. Hard times are going to come in the life of every believer. There will be times when circumstances will seem dark, times when you face seemingly impossible obstacles, times when defeat seems inevitable. Some Christians get confused when those times come. "What's happening here?" they cry. "I thought Jesus redeemed me from the curse!"

He did, but you can rest assured, Satan will challenge that redemption. He will try his best to steal it from you by pulling you off your walk of faith. Jesus warned us about that in the parable of the sower. He said:

The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
(Mark 4:14-17)

Satan will not sit idly by while you sail through life, effortlessly believing the Word of God. He'll pressure you with hard times. He'll attack you with sickness or lack, then he'll lie to you and tell you that God doesn't care. He'll try to convince you that God is not going to answer your prayer this time. He'll attempt to talk you into believing there's no way out and you're going to end up a miserable failure.

Endure Like A Soldier
When those hard times come, don't cave in to the pressure. Don't give up. Stand on the Word of God and endure hardness like a good soldier.

Soldiers will put up with far more discomfort than civilians. Have you ever noticed that? A soldier in boot camp will jump out of bed before dawn every morning to run and do push-ups. He may not like it, but he'll do it because his commanding officer has ordered him to do it. He endures the discomfort because he knows it's an inescapable part of military life.

A civilian, on the other hand, might start an exercise program but when the going gets tough, his muscles feel sore, and his schedule gets busy, he'll just quit exercising. If someone asks him about it, he might just shrug and say, "I tried exercise, but it didn't work for me."

But we're not civilians! We're soldiers! We don't try faith, we make it our lifestyle. We walk by faith whether it's hard or easy. We don't do it so we'll be blessed. We do it because we're determined to be pleasing to Jesus. He is our commander and chief, and the Bible says "without faith it is impossible to please him!" (Heb. 11:6).

Of course, we will end up blessed if we'll walk by faith. We'll end up healed and delivered and prospering in every area of life because God promised we would. That, however, is not our motivation. We're motivated by our desire to serve the Lord. That's what makes us believe His Word, stand fast, and endure when the hard times come.

As soldiers, we must also realize it's not just the hard times that are dangerous. It's the good times too. Sometimes the pleasures and seemingly harmless distractions of this world can draw us away from the plans and purposes of God just as surely as persecutions and afflictions. They can hinder us in the day of battle. That's why Paul said, "No solder when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of civilian life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him" (2 Tim. 2:4).

In the years I've lived by faith, I've noticed that it's easy to get entangled in the affairs of this life. In fact, it sometimes seems like this world is like an octopus always trying to grab you with its tentacles. If you don't watch out, it will wrap itself around you until you're completely caught up in the mundane, trivial things of this world.

If you let them, those trivial pursuits will hold you down and keep you from soaring on into the eternal things of God. They will choke out the Word that has been planted in your heart and leave you without faith and without power.

Listen, there's nothing more important than spending time with God in prayer and in the Word. The time you spend with Him will not only enable you to succeed in this life, but it will help you build for eternity. It will bear fruit that lasts forever.

So make whatever adjustments you must make to spend time with God. Refuse to let anything rob you of it. Whenever you take on anything new, count the cost - not just in money, but in time. Ask yourself, "Can I afford this spiritually? Can I spare the precious hours and minutes this project (possession, hobby, etc.) will require and still have plenty of time to fellowship with the Lord?" If the answer is no, then set that project aside.

Follow two more golden words of advice the Apostle Paul gave Timothy:

1. Constantly keep in mind Jesus Christ, the Messiah, risen from the dead...(2 Tim. 2:8).

2. Continue to hold to the things that you have learned...(2 Tim. 3:14).

When you face the pressure of battle, when stress and trouble come, when you feel you're about to faint, look up! Focus your attention on the heavenly truth that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and you are in Him! That means when He arose, you arose. When He defeated the devil, you defeated the devil. His victory is your victory!

Once you've set your mind on things above and you've begun to talk the victory, simply continue to do the things you've learned. In other words, keep marching! Keep reading and meditating on the Word. Keep acting in faith. That's really all it takes to win even the most complicated battles.

You don't have to know all the answers to your situation. You don't need a great amount of talent or ability. God has all the ability you could ever need and He knows all the answers, so all you have to do is trust Him and continue doing what you know to do.

Notice, I said continue doing. Just thinking about it won't work. Just knowing it won't get you through. It is not what you know that counts in this fight of faith, it is what you do!

James 2:26 says that faith without corresponding action is dead. So take action! Don't just say you believe God's Word, act like you believe it.

If you will do that, you'll suffer no defeat. You might experience a few temporary setbacks, but you will triumph in the end. And when your life in this earth is through, you'll be able to say those glorious words once written by the Apostle Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith!" (2 Tim. 4:7).

You'll be able to stand tall for eternity as a victorious soldier of the Lord. And Jesus will be able to say to you, "Well done good and faithful servant!"