⚔️ God’s Wounded Warriors ⚔️
The Call to the Unseen War
“Put on the FULL armor of GOD,
Taking up the shield of faith
The helmet of salvation with
The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
So you may be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.
We battle against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of darkness in this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms.”
"The Unseen War"
Every generation has its warriors.
Men forged in the hidden places.
Boys who rise into something greater than themselves.
You are one of them.
You were born into a war that began before time — a conflict raging between the Kingdom of Light and the forces of darkness. The enemy has set traps, lies, and ambushes for you since you were small.
Not because you are weak…
because of who you will become.
He sees your potential long before you do.
But the Lord — the Commander of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD of Hosts — sees something greater: a warrior awakening.
"Wounds That Mark a Warrior"
Every true warrior carries a wound.
Not to defeat him — but to forge him.
Mine came early.
A fall.
A break.
A surgery.
Metal pins.
A scar that sits under my skin even now.
Another injury followed later, attacking, destroying my physical strength again.
Left-handed, my left arm never fully recovered.
In the moment, it felt unfair.
Like something vital had been taken from me.
Then the Lord whispered what every warrior eventually learns:
“My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”
God does not waste wounds.
He reforges them into weapons.
"Weapons of our warfare."
My new weapon? God doubled the injustice.
“Instead of your shame, you will receive a DOUBLE portion. Instead of humiliation, you will shout for joy. Therefore, you will possess a DOUBLE portion in your land. Everlasting joy will be yours. For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery . . . And I will faithfully give them you your DOUBLE recompense and make an everlasting covenant with you.”
My wound, my injury, forced me to learn to battle and survive using both hands — right and left —DOUBLE. The battlefield does not wait for you to heal first.
A warrior adapts.
A warrior rises.
A warrior keeps moving.
You Were Born in Battle — On Purpose
Look back at your story.
The chaos surrounded your own birth.
The struggles your parents walked through.
The storms swirling before you even took your first breath.
The spiritual attacks that make no sense.
Those were not accidents.
When God sends a warrior into the world, the enemy often strikes early — hoping to discourage what Heaven has ordained.
Your birth was not random.
It was strategic.
A deployment.
"The Real Battlefield"
Many guys think the fight is “out there.”
It isn’t.
The greatest battles happen:
• in your mind
• in your heart
• in your temptations
• in the choices you make when no one sees
• in the loyalties you form
• in the voice you listen to
Darkness whispers.
Lies attack.
Fear presses.
Temptation hunts.
Shame stalks.
These are not small things.
They are fiery darts, launched by the rulers of darkness to weaken you before you rise into your calling.
“This is my shield of faith, so I can put out all the fiery darts of the enemy when he shoots them at me!”
But your King did not leave you defenseless.
He clothed you in real, spiritual armor — forged in the heavenlies.
The Armor of the Warrior-King
A true warrior does not walk unarmed.
God Himself equips His men:
• The Belt of Truth — the core that keeps you steady.
• The Breastplate of Righteousness — guarding your heart from corruption.
• The Boots of Peace — giving you the readiness to move when God calls.
• The Shield of Faith — extinguishing flaming arrows from the enemy.
• The Helmet of Salvation — protecting your mind from lies.
• The Sword of the Spirit — the Word of God — the only weapon that cuts into darkness.
These are not metaphors, figures of speech, or an analogy.
These are heaven-crafted weapons, assigned to you by the Lord of Hosts.
And when you learn to wield them, darkness trembles.
"The Warrior’s Heart"
You may feel wounded.
Good.
It means your training has begun.
You may feel weak.
Good.
It means His strength can rest on you.
You may feel unprepared.
Good.
It means you will rely on Him instead of yourself.
This fight is not about being perfect.
It’s about standing.
“Having done all… stand firm.”
Stand firm when you’re scared.
Stand firm when you’re tempted.
Stand firm when you’re confused.
Stand firm when you feel attacked.
Stand firm when darkness whispers your name.
Our King stands fixed beside you and me.
"The Warrior’s Assignment"
If God is raising you as a warrior, then this is your charge:
• Honor God
• Protect the weak.
• Defend your mother and sisters.
• Guard your mind.
• Honor your parents.
• Protect your future wife — even before you meet her — by keeping your heart clean.
• Stand for truth when others won’t.
• Use your words to bring life, not destruction.
• Carry the Presence of God wherever you go.
A warrior doesn’t wait for someone else to step up.
He stands at his post.
He keeps watch.
He leads with courage and humility.
"The Final Charge"
Young fellow warrior…
Your wounds have not ruined you.
They have marked you as His.
Your battles have not disqualified you.
They have trained you.
Your story has not weakened you.
It has prepared you.
You were born into this generation for a reason.
The King is calling you to rise.
So lift your eyes.
Strengthen your hands.
Steady your heart.
Fasten your armor.
Grip your sword.
You are God’s Wounded Warrior — forged by battle, strengthened by grace, and called by the King Himself.
And the war is not something to fear…
because the Victor walks with you.
Greetings, fellow warrior. My name is Cooper, and together, my mother and I wanted to write a book for boys who, like me, have been called to battle. It's not a battle of the flesh, even though you will experience physical attacks. What you are being called to battle is a war raging in the heavenlies—a battle between good and evil, right and wrong, against the weak, the helpless, and the vulnerable.
This is what God says in God's Word: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” The one sure way to lose the battle is when your flesh—your human nature—takes over and you fight in the flesh. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
You may have already read about me in Macy's Barn Cat or Horses Hoped For, which are primarily about my sisters. Yet this book is devoted to men—soon‑to‑be men—because without us, without our strength and wisdom from God, the most vulnerable (our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters) will be left open to attacks and captivity from the enemy. The most shocking attacks on men often come from the very ones we were designed to protect, which means we men cannot do this alone.
God says in God's Word, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."
Let this be one of your promises, which you read faithfully every day, to remain strong in the spirit, because the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.
We also need to be led by the Lord of Hosts. This means we must be trained by Him and develop a keen, insightful, close relationship with our Leader.
[To learn more about the Lord of Hosts, here are three of my favorites: 1 Chronicles 11:9, Psalm 24:10, and 2 Samuel 7:27.]
Now, my Son, I'm sure you want to hear how I became a Wounded Warrior. If I had to guess, you’ve been wounded too. Later, I hope you'll allow me to hear your story.
What is most important, my Son, is that you begin to see your wounds as an asset—a practical and valuable secret weapon of war. Often disguised as a scar to be hidden, often designed by the enemy to destroy you systematically—GOD designed each wound to make you invincible.
Torture, too, is designed by the enemy to destroy. Regardless, with God's army and His soldiers, God designed everything to become training for greater battles you will be called to fight in the future—in the spirit.
A common enemy strategy—used very successfully to destroy future warriors—is the custody battle. When a parent (most often but not only the father) succumbs and surrenders to the weakness and lusts of the flesh, this breach leaves the other parent, and their sons and daughters, open to destruction.
[Learn more about the strange woman in Proverbs 2:16 and Proverbs 23:27. and Samson.
Know the signs while you're young so you are not captured by the strange woman spoken about in God's Word. Too often, the man, the father, is rendered powerless, and we see that the lusts of the flesh have taken down even the strongest men in history—especially Samson.
Samson, the strongest man recorded, fell under the power of Delilah. You may have missed it, but God used it for good in the end. Samson eventually took down all the Philistines. “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him,” it says in God's Word. This promise from the Lord of Hosts—our Leader—is vital to meditate on. Commit to reading this promise and the many others in this book as your weapons of war each morning and before you close your eyes at night. Doing so will unlock a treasure chest full of promises.
Reading God's promises day and night unleashes an incredible superpower. A warrior’s delight is in God's Word, and when he meditates on it day and night, “you become like a tree planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in season, and whatever you do prospers.”
During most custody battles, the children are cut in two—sometimes by the parents, sometimes by the court. Interestingly, Solomon's wisdom was revealed when he asked for a sword to divide a child. When Solomon faced the dilemma of two mothers claiming the same baby, he proposed dividing the baby in half. The true mother revealed herself by pleading for the child to live.
During the custody battle for my two sisters and me, we were not divided when our parents agreed to give sole custody to one and visitation to the other. However, not long after, we were captured and held hostage until our custodial parent agreed to give up custody—but only after “terrorist demands” were made and granted.
Just days before being captured, my second lifelong injury occurred. While riding my bike down our steep street, I applied my handbrake and flew over the handlebars, shattering my left wrist. The break was so severe that I was admitted to the hospital for extensive surgery the next day, where the surgeon drilled pins through my wrist bones. These pins stuck out from my blue cast.
After my stay in the hospital, we were scheduled to visit our noncustodial parent. Desperate and frantic to have us, my sisters and I were held hostage. Since it was critical that the pins be removed before they fused to the bone, our custodial parent finally agreed to surrender custody. Only then was I driven nine hours, crossing two state lines, where the surgeon removed the pins without needing a second surgery.
Unfortunately, the delay caused permanent damage. The pins were in so long that I lost mobility in my dominant left arm.
Twenty years later, my mother asked me to forgive her for the permanent damage. One morning, while spending time with the Lord, she remembered the principle “agree quickly” and realized she had failed to do so. “Please forgive me,” she said.
Nevertheless, I didn’t blame either parent, knowing “GOD meant it for good.”
As a result, I learned to be ambidextrous—able to use both hands—much like David’s warriors in God's Word, who could shoot arrows and sling stones with either hand.
There are two other battles described in God’s Word involving left‑handed warriors—men who were uniquely trained by God and used mightily.
Unfortunately—or fortunately, once you understand the beauty of being wounded—I was wounded again as an adult. While working to provide for my family of six, God saw fit to wound me a second time—this time taking my reliable right arm through a shoulder injury. With twin babies who needed to be lifted and held, I was removed from heavy lifting at my workplace. An MRI showed that my shoulder resembled that of an 85‑year‑old man, not a 30‑year‑old.
God's Word says, “I know the plans I have for you—plans for good and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” And again, in God’s Word, He says He creates both light and darkness, well‑being and calamity.
During your battles, you will be bombarded by major attacks, my Son. Add these promises from God—another sword of the Spirit—to your arsenal.
Are you wondering why God would intentionally allow calamity in the lives of His sons? He does this so we never become tempted to try anything in our own strength. God must be our Source while we remain connected to our Leader, as God's Word says: “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
By not rejecting or blaming, but embracing the damage, I eventually discovered how “GOD meant it for good.” One example was learning the link between shoulder pain and gallbladder function—something I would never have sought if not for the injury.
"These [ambidextrous] men helped David in battle. They could shoot arrows from their bows with either their right or left hand. They could also throw stones from their slings with either their right or left hand."
[More battles: Judges 3:12-30, and Judges 20:16]
Unfortunately or fortunately (once you understand the beauty and benefits of being wounded), I was again wounded to prepare me for battle and to make sure I was a fit warrior to train you, my Son, for battle. As an adult, while I was working to provide for my family of six (my wife and my four daughters), God saw fit to wound me again— taking my reliable right arm in a shoulder injury. With twin baby girls who needed to be picked up and held, I was relieved from heavy lifting at my workplace and discovered the extent of my injury. The MRI determined that my shoulder looked to be that of an 85-year-old man, not a 30-year-old.
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11). “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these” (Isaiah 45:6–7). During your battles, you will be bombarded by major attacks, my Son, so be sure you add these promises from God, another sword of the Spirit, to your artillery.
Are you wondering why God would intentionally, deliberately, knowingly, and willfully cause His sons calamity? He does this to ensure and guarantee that we understand and are never tempted to try anything "on our own" or battle in the flesh! God the Father must be the Source of our strength, while we remain connected to our Leader: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Once again, by not rejecting or blaming but embracing the damage, many months later I discovered how "GOD meant it for good." Not only did He give me another testimony to share so you can "overcome the wicked one" "by the word of their testimony" but I discovered what may be the damage is not there. Instead, because we're so uniquely and wonderfully made by our Creator, there is a connection between our shoulder pain or movement and our gallbladder.
After repeated difficulty and my mother raising me to not trust doctors but trust God, seeking Him like King Asa failed to do which led to him "sleeping with his fathers" passing away rather than God healing him when he'd sought God's healing rather than man's—It's when I was asking God for wisdom for a reoccurring issue with my gallbladder. Again, "GOD meant it for good." because I discovered the connection. The other good is I'm not assigned lifting heavy items at work so I can save my lifting and carrying to my daughters.
As a wounded warrior, my Son, something happens to your heart: you are given the gift of having a more prominent, more outstanding, more distinguished, and more renowned determination to do what is right regardless of the obstacles and enemy opposition. Even though most men fight in their own strength, as warriors devoted to God, becoming a man of valor, you are joining other men like Gideon, whom you can read about in the book of Judges.
Gideon was a farmer who defeated an army of thousands, and he won with only a few hundred men. God's angel called Gideon a "mighty man of valor" before he had done anything remotely brave. Even as a boy, David was a well-known warrior when he slayed Goliath, the Philistine giant who challenged the Israelites to single combat. David, a young shepherd boy, used a sling and stones to kill the giant who mocked God. You probably heard the story, but be sure you read the complete account of this battle of David to understand how God prepared him just as He is preparing you.
As my mom said in her book about homeschooling her children, "God LOVES to stack the odds against His believers (let’s not forget Gideon’s army that He whittled down to show HIS strength)." What's interesting about Gideon that I believe we can all relate to is how, while hiding, God sent an angel who greeted Gideon, saying, "The Lord is with you, valiant [strong, mighty, brave] warrior" (Judges 6:12). In this part of history, you can also read about the patience God showed towards his servant and the miracle of using fleece, sheep skin, to confirm that God would help Gideon win. Adding this to your quiver of arrows or pouch of supernatural smooth stones may mean winning or losing your next battle.
"As precious and perfect as my fourth son was to me," my mother likes to say, my life began "while in my mother's womb when I was secretly formed and no one, no doctor, peered inside to see my forming body." God says about us, "My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16-24).
God's plan for me was to be born at home, witnessed only by my father. There was no midwife, no doctor, and no nurse present. No one but God saw me, heard my heartbeat, or knew that I was a boy until the day of my birth. Only God, who formed me in my mother's womb, could be trusted. My birth, too, was so unusual and unnatural, which confirmed that I belonged to the Lord God, my Creator.m
As my mother's sixth child, I was born after a full ten months, not the typical nine months, and weighed close to 12 pounds, 5.4 kg (babies are typically between 5-8 pounds or 3.5 kilograms).
Whether you were a large baby, very small, or just average size—your birth, my Son, was designed by your Creator "for such a time as this" "to save many people alive." Do you believe this, my Son? Have you sensed in your spirit and heart that there was something important you must do?
It's not by chance or coincidence that you're reading this book. You do know that, don't you? This is your Divine Appointment, and God is letting you know it has been Him speaking to you. You haven't been imagining it, so He sent me to tell you that every difficulty you've faced has been God training you, preparing you, and now you are ready to move up to more intense training.
It's not unlike my cousin, who's a former Navy Seal (and not just any Navy Seal—he went on to train other Navy Seals). I'm here to train you—no, not as a drill sergeant. God called me to train you as a son, His son, and for me to "father" you as a spiritual leader and, for a time, father you as you've deserved.
Even though my father was great and fun to be around, for me to become the man I am today, to be the warrior He's called me to be and to be prepared to train you to be the warrior you are called to be, He knew we needed to be wounded in body, mind, soul, and spirit. Only then can we be trusted to rely on only Him— to the degree we need to be in order to survive and win battles. With each battle we lose, remember, we were designed to lose it—in order to gain strength, wisdom, and understanding for the next greater battle.
Like me, you probably enjoy video games, but when you are called to battle in real life, that's when things get really exciting. Are you ready? Great, please let me know you are by commenting below. But first, let me tell you about your...
"You will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17 ).
My first battle wound happened when I was just 18 months old. Yours may have happened at birth or before birth. Mine happened when I'd climbed up on the top of a bunk bed and fell backward, landing on my head on the solid hardwood floor. There was no apparent injury; however, a few weeks later, my oldest brother began shouting, "Come quick!!!! Come quick!!!! Something's wrong with Cooper!" Rushing down the hallway, my family saw me in the stroller convulsing, shaking violently with irregular spasms until they suddenly stopped. My body was left stiff, and my arms were drawn up in a position indicating significant brain damage.
My mother knew the signs since she'd paid her way through college by working in a church nursery, and one of the children she cared for was severely brain damaged—a happy five-year-old boy who couldn't walk, speak, or "play" like other children.
Instinctively, my father started to call for emergency medical help, yet, due to witnessing a situation with my grandfather, who'd recently passed away, both my parents knew the dangers of turning over your loved one to anyone. "I am the LORD, who heals you. I am the LORD, your healer” (Exodus 15:26).
After the decision to trust God was made, my five older siblings surrounded me and began singing praise songs—when suddenly, God showed up because He "inhabits the praises of His people" (Psalm 22:3). My mother said she could feel my arms and legs start to relax. That day, God healed me! And like the Grinch, whose "small heart grew three sizes that day and gained the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!” Rather than the enemy stealing my future, that fateful day, my brain actually grew three inches, and, most notably, my intelligence grew ten times bigger, plus two.
My understanding and wisdom of God's Word and memory are somewhat similar to what occurred with the three youths, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were thrown into a furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, as you can read in the book of Daniel 3:8–30. All because they refused to bow down to the King (like my parents refused to bow down to modern medicine), these warriors were unharmed and when rescued "from the furnace of blazing fire. Like Daniel, who was tested and thrown into the lion's den, each was resolved to live according to God's law."
Now that I'm an adult, I realize that my wounds as a warrior of God and being set apart from formal education and homeschooled have contributed to the wisdom and understanding I was given.
My Son, whatever God has for my future, or yours, there is one inescapable truth. No matter what, I will continue to declare, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith, in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Will you join me?
Now, my Son, I'm ready to hear your story with a comment below! Be sure to share your name (a BNN is great) and your age. What part of my story do you like the best? Most importantly, I want to hear your story!