“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Ephesians 6:10-18
Sometime in the life of every human being, the option to follow Jesus Christ will be given, with the choice to accept or decline that opportunity. The benefits of walking with the Lord are beautiful, giving blessings that money cannot buy. No matter the amount of money a man or woman has in their possession, joy, peace, love, patience, mercy, grace and other blessings cannot be purchased.
Those who enter the beautiful kingdom of God are babes in Him, experiencing a new world of wonder that is worth choosing.
The kingdom of God continues to be worth our own personal surrender to God, but as time goes on, baby Christians will discover that the kingdom of God is also a battleground. As children of God unite in their service to our Savior, we are also uniting against an enemy that does not love mankind and does not want mankind to live victoriously. Satan is alive and well, continually seeking to distract, discourage and destroy the children of God.
The Bible talks about our battle against evil, and in Ephesians 6, God’s Word tells us what to equip ourselves with in order to survive, overcome, and win against the enemy of our souls.
It is crucial that we remember the instruction of Ephesians 6:13: “…take up the whole armor of God…”
As Christians, it is unwise to think we can choose which parts of the armor God has provided for us, rather than applying all of it to our lives. Leaving gaps in our armor give opportunities to the enemy to aim for the areas of our lives that are not protected.
The armor includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, (as shoes for your feet) the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
To know the truth and to experience salvation are beautiful and necessary, but if we stop there without living a life of righteousness, we are already an easy target for Satan. If we live righteously to the best of our ability without learning the Word of God and discovering His truth, we are lacking crucial pieces of our armor that teach us how to withstand the devil.
Any combination of missing pieces of spiritual armor open us up to attacks of Satan that we are not prepared for. Friends, God has provided all that we need. We only lack if we choose to not use every piece of armor.
Press on, soldiers of the Lord! We have all we need when we put on the whole armor of God!
