Armor for the Battle

Ephesians 6:10-13 -  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Paul is closing out another amazing letter …full of wisdom…to the early Christians…probably meant for more than just the one’s at Ephesus.  Paul….who always sought the help of the father…closes his letter with these great words.  He says to be strong…to stand….to put on our armor and get ready for battle.  Paul had already battled Satan many times…he knew what was ahead for those of us that learn to love God more than we love the world.  He knew how much Satan hated that we can gain so much power and strength in the Lord…that Satan would have to flee from us in defeat.

Problem is…we don’t fight him enough…we let him win before we even put up a fuss.  We sit…frozen in disbelief…or we allow Satan to trick us into thinking we are safe from his schemes. We allow Satan to slowly separate us from God’s love….to steal our joy…to rob us of the peace he gave us when we were first saved.  We allow the devil to cloud our judgment… to build a false sense of security in our mind.

Paul describes to us just a few verses later the exact pieces of armor we need to don before we even think of battling the devil. We need truth…the real truth where we are honest with ourselves…sincere with others…always searching our hearts for sins that Satan can use against us…use to lead us astray.  We need righteousness…a constant sense that we need to strive for the purity of God…repenting when we first notice the sin…allowing God to cleanse us and fortify our hearts.  We need faith…real faith…that gives our feet courage to walk in places he calls us to go…faith that gives us strength through any temptation….peace through any storm. We need salvation…worn as a helmet of protection…covered by his grace…a child of God….loved and washed clean….loved and saved by his great sacrifice on the cross…salvation that delivers us from the mistakes of our flesh.  We need the Spirit of God…that sweet infilling of power and strength …that inner confidence that comes from knowing that God is our rock…that he sent his comforter to dwell in us and work through us…that knowledge that comes only from the divinely inspired words of Moses…Jeremiah…  David…Matthew…Mark…John….and the many other authors of the bible…that we read and study every day.   And finally…we need prayer…prayers that never cease…that continue throughout our day…that become a part of our whole attitude toward life.

Father….thank you again for these wise words of Paul.  Thank you for inspiring him to tell me how to prepare for the attacks of Satan that bombard me every day.  Help me this morning…no this whole day to put on my armor….and let it strengthen me….to allow YOU to fight off the attacks of Satan with your love and power.  Help me Lord to leave my armor on all the time…to never take it off...to wear it even if I get tired. Help me Lord to be so confident in you that my heart knows your voice… that I turn my ear to your truth and allow you to deepen my faith.  Allow me to be so close to you that Satan runs from me as he runs from you! Amen.