I was thinking to myself, “Am I ever going to get to the top of this mountain?”

I was beginning to think I had made a mistake moving from artillery to infantry. It was August of 1970. My first six months of my second tour in Vietnam were in the “Arizona Territory” near a village called An Hoa. I was a section chief on a self-propelled 155mm Howitzer, and I was content to ride out rockets, mortars, snipers, and an occasional sapper attack (Vietnamese version of suicide bombers).

Then my twin brother Roger was severely wounded in an ambush, and I wanted payback, so I requested reassignment to an infantry unit as a forward observer.

An Hoa was flat as a pancake, and combat conditions precluded doing any kind of physical fitness training. I may have gained a few pounds (my memory is fuzzy on this) over the course of six months.

Immediately after arriving in my new unit, we began operations in the Que Son Mountains southwest of Danang. These weren’t the Rocky Mountains, but the elevations were measured in meters and not feet, with some ranging between two and three thousand meters high.

Loaded down with packs and ammunition in the heat of summer, the climbing was physically demanding. I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake. Every time it started to level out, another hill rose in front of us. Then we walked into the clouds hovering at the upper elevations. It was an eerie experience, as the North Vietnamese army routinely staged attacks on our forces from their mountain base camps.

In my spiritual journey, I’ve concluded that flatland Christians don’t accomplish much for the Kingdom. You can play it safe and stick to the meadows and babbling brooks, but you never give those faith muscles a workout. To be effective for the Kingdom, you need to start climbing.

Moses climbed Mount Sinai to come face to face with the great I AM (Exodus 3). Saul’s son Jonathan climbed a sharp rock to attack the Philistine garrison (1 Samuel 14). Years later, Elijah ascended Mount Horeb to meet the living God, not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19). Jesus took His three closest disciples to witness His transfiguration on the mountaintop (Matthew 17).

King David posed this question: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:3-5, ESV).

There are two reasons to ascend the hill of the Lord. The first reason is to receive clean hands and a pure heart. As our hearts “ascend” to God in prayer and worship, we receive cleansing, renewal, and strength for the journey. The second reason is to obtain victory over the enemy in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

Jonathan ascended the hill to put the Philistines to flight because God had confirmed Jonathan’s plan to go up to them. “And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.’ And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel’” (1 Samuel 14:12).

If we read God’s Word, we see that the battle always belongs to the Lord. He simply asks us to take Him at His word and to walk in faith. When the Moabites and the Ammonites marched against Jerusalem, King Jehosaphat proclaimed to God they had no strength against the enemy. Through a prophet, God told them, “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

God was true to His word.

Here is a battle song you can use: “So, when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees, With my hands lifted high, Oh God, the battle belongs to You. And every fear I lay at Your feet, I’ll sing through the night, Oh God, the battle belongs to You” (Phil Wickham, “The Battle Belongs to You”).

If you want victory in every area of your life, then let me encourage you to “ascend to the hill of the Lord” today and every day. I intend to keep on climbing until the day that I, once again, enter into the clouds.

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!