Hard to Kill – Training for Spiritual Warfare

Hard to Kill – Training for Spiritual Warfare

Are you Hard to Kill – Or a Easy Target?

“To be capable of confronting evil is not to become evil, but to become the kind of man who can stand in the face of darkness and not be consumed by it.” – Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

1. The Hidden Cost of Victory: Poisoned by the Demon You Beat

When a man resists temptation—pornography, rage, passivity, isolation, greed—he’s not simply avoiding sin. He’s engaging a spiritual enemy. It is not passive avoidance; it is a real-time war. In that moment, you are confronting something ancient and intelligent. You are grabbing a demon by the throat and throwing it down.

But after the “win” comes the whisper. Something remains. A residue. Like venom left in the bloodstream, the engagement can spiritually contaminate the man who fought. The demon may flee—whipped for now—but it remembers the resistance. It marks you. It studies you. And when it returns, it doesn’t come alone.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.” – Luke 11:24-26

This is not a game. It’s a war of attrition, and far too many men get ambushed after a victory. They stand up once, resist once, and then believe the battle is over. But if you don’t reinforce the gates, the enemy doesn’t have to knock next time—he walks right in.

You can either be Hard to Kill, or a pushover who falls without a fight. Most men today collapse under pressure because they’ve been trained by culture to pursue immediate gratification and the dopamine it brings. They’ve been conditioned to avoid discomfort and chase the high. The momentary escape becomes a lifestyle of defeat.

1. God’s Way Out—But Do You Take It?

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

There is always a way out. Always. The tragedy is that most men don’t see it. Or worse—they do, and walk past it. The way out often looks too small, too slow, too boring. But it is always there. That door of escape is not just a backdoor from sin—it’s an invitation to level up.

But here’s the problem: when you “clean house,” when you get rid of addiction, anger, compromise, or spiritual apathy—and you don’t fill that space with something better, something godly, something strong—then evil circles back. It finds a vacuum. And hell abhors a vacuum.

You can’t just be emptied. You must be empowered.

Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research reveals that the ability to resist temptation is not just a matter of willpower—it’s neurological. The Mid-Cingulate Cortex (part of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex) is deeply tied to self-discipline, persistence, and resilience. Those with a highly developed Mid-Cingulate Cortex are better at enduring hardship, resisting temptation, and even fending off disease. This region governs the strength of your will—your ability to make hard choices in the face of easy ones.

So how do you grow it?

• Resist gratification often. Delay the dopamine hit.
• Engage in cold exposure, fasting, and exercise.
• Practice meditation and prayer with disciplined focus.
• Train yourself to do hard things daily, intentionally.

These practices strengthen the neural pathways of your will. You can actually build a brain that is hard to kill.

III. Training to Be “Hard to Kill”

“If you don’t train your nervous system, your habits, your mind, and your spirit—you’ll be a joke when pressure comes. Discipline isn’t punishment; it’s preparation.” – Tony Robbins

Most men are spiritually fragile. Emotionally unstable. Relationally inconsistent. Physically weak. We are easy to kill. Easy to fool. Easy to tempt. We’ve become soft.

To become Hard to Kill, you must train like it. This is not a spiritual suggestion—it’s your survival strategy.

Spiritually: Feed daily on scripture. Fast. Confess sin quickly. Pray aggressively. Visualize your battles like the Dickens Process—see the cost of your sin, past, present, and future. Attach meaning to your action.

Physically: Your body is a war machine. If you neglect it, you disarm yourself. Move. Lift. Fight. Sweat. Engage in martial arts, not just to fight others—but to fight yourself. Pressure tests expose your limits and teach you to grow through them.

Emotionally: Learn your triggers. Acknowledge your shadows. Choose your identity. Choose truth, not trauma.

Relationally: Protect your post. Show up for your family. Be a wall. Be a covering. Be a fire.

Mentally: Practice true science. Try to disprove your own theories. Your belief system must be battle-tested, not comfort-built. Don’t hide behind certainty—forge it through opposition.

A true warrior prays for a worthy opponent. Because hardship creates the man. As Theodore Roosevelt said:

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life… the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife.”

Ease makes you soft. Struggle makes you sacred.

1. The Test Is the Measure of the Man

“The devil doesn’t waste bullets. If you’re under fire, it’s because you’re worth shooting at.” – Joe Beam, Seeing the Unseen

The test is not an accident. It is the measure. Temptation is not proof of your weakness—it’s evidence of your worth. If you weren’t dangerous to hell, hell would ignore you.

“To be a man of value is to be a man who can endure the weight of responsibility—and that responsibility will always come with its own particular devils.” – Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

You are not weak because you are tested. You are being forged because you’re needed. But you must pass the test—not once, but again and again. Victory doesn’t make you safe. It makes you a target. Stay sharp. Stay armored. Stay trained.

Joe Beam emphasizes in Seeing the Unseen that the battle is daily. And the key to winning isn’t talent or charisma—it’s discipline. Habits. Structure. Ritual. Obedience. Every time you choose the right thing over the easy thing, you are winning the unseen war.

Visualization is key: picture the battlefield. Name your enemy. Name your victory. See the faces of your children, your legacy, your consequences. Use a process like Dickens’—see who you become if you don’t win. And let that move you to action.

1. Action Steps: Becoming Hard to Kill

Here are five disciplines you can begin today to fortify yourself:

1. Fight Daily – Choose one thing to deny yourself. Fast from food, screens, noise, or comfort. Fasting trains spiritual control. Cold showers, delayed meals, and digital discipline are weapons.
2. Fill the House – After repentance or breakthrough, immediately fill the space with scripture, prayer, godly conversation, worship, and mission. Don’t leave your soul empty—fill it with fire.
3. Train Physically – Your body is your battlefield. Sweat daily. Test yourself in martial arts, hiking, lifting, sparring. Train not to dominate others—but to dominate the weaker version of yourself.
4. Inventory Relationships – Who builds you? Who drains you? Who do you need to forgive or confront? Reclaim your brotherhood. Be a man who others can trust to hold the line.
5. Watch the Trail – After victory, double your vigilance. Expect retaliation. Temptation often returns with reinforcements. Be watchful. Be armed. Stay humble, but stay dangerous.

Final Charge

You were not made to be easily killed. You were made to destroy the works of the devil. To terrify darkness. To wage war in prayer, in your home, in your business, and in your own soul.

But power without discipline makes you a tyrant. And discipline without purpose makes you religious.

Be trained. Be tempered. Be tested. Be Hard to Kill.

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life…” – James 1:12

This is your test. Don’t waste it.

This is your training. Don’t skip it.

This is your war. Don’t sleep through it.