I am a huge Law and Order fan, so much so that my nine year old daughter has grown to love it as well. There was one particular episode where a soldier died because he was given a faulty bullet-proof vest. This vest was supposed to protect him against the enemy. He didn't feel the need to test it out. He trusted the manufacturer and because of this he lost his life. It made me think about my armor and if it is strong enough to stand against the enemy, Satan.
We are told as Christians to put on the 'whole armor of God so that we will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil'. This armor is composed of several pieces - the belt of truth, the body armor of God's righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. The Bible tells us in verse 13 to 'use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will be standing firm'.
Every piece?! This is the first time I really paid attention to this. In order to fight against Satan and be victorious I needed to put on the entire armor of God? Won't that be heavy? Let me think about this. I really must wear this armor at all times. Yes! Why? Because Satan is trying his hardest to defeat you. He wants to catch you slipping. He wants to find even the smallest part of your body that is uncovered that he can sneak in. Go ahead take off your helmet and he will try to enter your mind. Remove your breastplate and he will try to enter your heart. With your breastplate of righteousness on you can standly boldly before God and against Satan. When Satan tries his hardest to come up against you with the lie of condemnation or that you aren't good enough you can fight back with God's righteousness which is covering you. Try to go without your shield of faith - in comes doubt. Is one more deadly than the other? I think not. You see, unlike the soldier who depended on someone else to give him his armor, we are responsible for picking it up and putting it on ourselves. And this armor must be authentic because when Satan is on the scene he has one objective - to kill, steal and destroy. We must be prepared to stand up and fight. We can't afford to slack off, even for a second. This fight is continuous. And our fighting is done on our knees and with the Word of God. We must be prepared. It is very easy to think that if we have all of our defensive weapons in place then we can leave off our offensive weapon, which is the sword of the spirit. But the Word is very effective at fighting off the enemy.
Feeling tired - Nehemiah 8:10; Jeremiah 16:19: Isaiah 40:31; Psalms 34:4; Matthew 11:28-31
Discouraged - Psalms 40:2-3; Hebrews 13:6; Isaiah 40:29
Afraid - Psalms 18:10; Isaiah 41:10
Angry - Isaiah 35:4-5; Ephesians 4:31-32; Hebrews 12:15
I can go on and on. Hopefully you get my point. It is imperative that you put on your armor and you must put it on daily. Never take it off. Satan is real and he is trying his best to defeat you. Will you give him the opportunity?
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your salvation. Thank you for righteousness. And most importantly thank you for your Word. I know that I have not worn every piece at all times and some days I don't put it on at all. I have been foolish enough to think I could do it with my own strength. Not anymore. From this point on I will put on the whole armor so that I can adequately fight against Satan. Thank you for providing everything necessary so that I can come out victorious. In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.
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