We need training to desire what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and anything worthy of praise—“think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Fight the drag of being entertained by lies. Don’t permit what dishonors others. Be against what is impure.

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.
Psalm 144:1

We are in a war of the soul, fought on the digital frontier.

King David had his battlegrounds. And we have ours against cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil (Eph 6:12). We are assaulted by the ancient foe who hates image bearers with all his scales. The world, our flesh, and the devil have formed a coalition against us. And the conflict is growing on the black mirrored screen we all carry.

As I meditated on David’s language for war, I was struck by his personal and precise choices—hands and fingers. King David knew the skill needed for the precision fling of a sword. He knew the required grip strength for drawing the bow. David knew his battles, what it takes, and who trained him for them all—God, his rock.

The war of the soul is not too different.

We need training on how we use our hands and fingers to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:11). Training indicates more than figuring it out as we go. Training doesn’t just happen. It’s focused time, attention, and sweaty effort. Training for godliness is the same (1 Tim 4:7). We need God’s help in fighting for holy lives. And God cares about our lives all the way to the tips of our fingers. He wants to strengthen our hands.

It’s nearly impossible to think of our hands and not think of our phones. Holding phones, texting on phones, searching on phones, swiping on phones, videos on phones. And, we would do well to assess our training when we are phone-in-hand. Shockingly, they are with us everywhere, every hour, every day. For good and evil.

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