The Secrets of Your Identity IllustrationsSample

Analogy #1: Be A Loyal Soldier

Believers are compared to soldiers in the Book of Ephesians.

Let’s start with the most obvious analogy of all, one that appears the most in the New Testament and may be the best-known among believers—that of a soldier. The Book of Ephesians goes into great detail to describe our armor and our mental state in preparing for war. (Read Ephesians 6:10–18.)

What makes someone a loyal soldier? Let’s first consider what a soldier is primarily known for and why the role of the soldier exists. Being a soldier has three key aspects.

Let’s look at them closely.

Aspect #1: Training

Soldiers are trained to do battle, to never lose a fight, and to know everything about their enemy. What does this mean for believers? Well, we need to take on a “boot camp” mentality. God will allow us to encounter different trials and tests to fortify us and train us in the battle. I love what the author of Hebrews said with regard to training, and I think he wrote this with the soldier analogy in mind:

"Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong." —Hebrews 5:14, NLT (Emphasis Added)

I love this verse because it promotes the idea that believers need to break away from laziness and codependency on any minister by rolling up their sleeves and starting their own training.

How do you train for spiritual battle? Discipline yourself through daily reading your Bible and daily spending time in worship and prayer. Faithfully attend church as often as you can. You have begun the rigorous process of training how to fight. And once you have learned how to fight, you are ready for combat.

Aspect #2: Combat

When the Lord determines that believers are ready, He places them into small battles or combat. If you want to maintain your freedom, you’re going to have to fight for it. You fight by taking control of your mind and casting down imaginations, learning to discipline the way you speak, and getting involved in different outreaches in your church. All these things involve combat. Standing up for truth in a lukewarm, evil society can also be a form of combat. In the US Army, “every soldier is trained and prepared for possible deployment” and “any soldier can be deployed.” Even those assigned to less-obvious levels of warfare are called to action during times of need.

I hope you fight like a warrior until the end. I have given you three books of deep-level training in spiritual warfare. Don’t allow them to be just head knowledge for you. Take up the weapon of the Word of God and fight.

Aspect #3: Endurance

The more you fight, the more you will be able to handle in a fight. The Book of James says that trials and tribulation work endurance in us.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." —James 1:2–4, NLT

Endurance is the ability to withstand long periods of fighting or to tolerate multiple attacks on your person. Soldiers are typically known for one thing: not quitting. They are trained to fight to the death, and they will endure just about anything that comes without flinching, because the goal of winning the battle is more important than anything else.

The apostle Paul urged us to become that kind of soldier. He wanted us to be able to endure hardship. Far too many saints are weak and give up too easily. I want you to fight to maintain your spiritual freedom. No matter how much it hurts—no matter how hard the devil is attacking you—endure, and fight back.

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." —2 Timothy 2:3–4

You’re not just a saint; you’re a soldier in the army of the Lord, and you are required to take up arms and fight. If not, you will receive a dishonorable discharge.

Don’t allow yourself to get caught up with the cares of this life. Learn everything you need to know about spiritual warfare and fight back. You have been mandated to fight. You are required to fight. God chose you to fight. Now fight, soldier.