The second lesson from the key verse is that if we are to see the deliverance of the Lord then we must stand firm. Sounds simple enough but far too often we can run and hide when the attacks come. We can turn to our friends, or even the experts of this world to try and get some relief from the lies the enemy has whispered into our ears. Remember, the world will always have a solution for you too you have to choose which one to believe in God's solution or the world's. The Gospel of Mark tells the story of the woman who suffered from the issue of blood. The Bible tells us of how she fared with the solutions the world offered:
She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. Mark 5: 26
Yet, it was not until she pressed through her circumstances to touch Jesus did she find the healing she so desperately sought. We too can suffer for many years and seek all of the answers the world has to offer only to watch as we grow worse and the world takes everything from us as well. Taking up position in the Word of God is not enough we must stand firm upon that Word. We must not give up when the problem or the attack intensifies. So many Christians need deliverance but are not willing to stand firm upon the Word of God. Our key verse is imploring us that if we want to see that deliverance in our lives then we must stand firm upon the positions we have set up. Jesus once spoke about people who took up positions but did not stand firm. They heard His Word but did not put them into practice they did not believe His Word in their own lives; in their own battles. The result is when the storms intensified the house they had built fell with a mighty crash. But those who had taken up their positions and stood firm under attack their house withstood the storms and the attacks (see Matthew 7).
The next thing we must learn from the key verse is that we cannot be afraid or discouraged. Why? Because these things are not of God, show a lack of faith, and are ultimately just the soil the enemy is looking for to plant his seed of doubt in your mind. Whatever fear or anxiety we might experience, we must always remember:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2Timothy 1: 7 (NKJV)
The enemy seeks the opposite in you. He seeks to give you a spirit of fear and anxiety to strip you of your power, make you feel unloved and to disrupt the soundness of your mind by establishing his foothold in it. Just as fear leads to anxiety, discouragement leads to despair (depression). Anxiety and depression are inward focused. The scheme of the enemy is to get you to be focused on yourself, your problems, your past, your future, and your feelings. We need to be upward focused; on the answer to all of those issues Jesus. God is your problem solver; He has forgiven your past, has secured your future, and is bigger than your feelings. It is not enough to take up your positions through the Word of God and stand firm in your beliefs against the attacks of the enemy we must also do so in a spirit that is of God and not the enemy. We must do so as the Psalmist directs:
The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
The devil seeks a stronghold in your mind through fear and discouragement but if the Lord is the stronghold of your life there is no fear. There is no discouragement.