The Armor of God
We live in a world where Satan roams freely. Are you prepared to fight him? There are many things in the world that can
lead us away from God and toward Satan. In
Ephesians we are given the best resources that we will need in this fight
against Satan.
One of the best examples of Satan doing his best to destroy someone
on earth was Job. If we think Satan isn’t real we just need to read about
Job. Job didn’t do anything wrong but
God allowed Satan to test him and what a test it was. Job lost everything. He even questioned if God was still with
him.
How many times in our daily life do we struggle with wondering if
God is there in the midst of our trials?
If we are going to win the fight we will need to armor up. When ancient warriors went into battle they
prepared. They had a horse to get them
where they needed to go. They also had
armor and sometimes even their horses had armor.
The first piece of armor we will need is truth. When a warrior
went into battle he wore a belt. The
belt was used to hold his sword. If the
soldier didn’t wear his belt he couldn’t carry one of his most powerful
weapons, the sword of the Spirit. The
girds refer to the pieces that held the armor on. If we don’t have the truth it’s
like running out to fight in a t-shirt, jeans and a fly swatter.
We also are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital
organs from blows that could be fatal.
This righteousness isn’t of our works.
It is the righteousness of Christ, received by faith that guards our
hearts against the accusations of Satan and secures us from his attacks.
Next we will need to prepare our feet for battle. Satan is going to try to stop each of us from
sharing the Gospel. He is going to do
his best to throw roadblocks in our way so that we can’t advance God’s
Kingdom. He wants us to stumble and
fall. If we are going to share God’s
message we better have good footwear.
We next need to get our shield of faith. This shield helps us to deflect the blows
that Satan throws our way.
The next thing we need to put on is the helmet of salvation. If we don’t protect our head we aren’t much
good in a fight, that’s why we need to protect it. Your head is where the mind resides and when
we prepare this vital part of our body it helps us to discern between spiritual
truth and spiritual deception.
All of the previous pieces of armor are for defensive
purposes. When we put on the sword of
the Spirit, it is the only offensive weapon that we use when we put on the
armor of God. This piece shows us the
holiness and power of the Word of God.
When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness he used the Word of
God. That was his formidable weapon
against Satan. The amazing thing is; we
have the very same weapon at our disposal.
For us to utilize God’s weapons we will need to study, live, breathe and walk in His Holy Word. Our best
defense against Satan is to be prepared and to use the tools God provides
us.
Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want
to wear your armor. If I don’t know Your
truth and bury it in my heart, I will not be able to fight the battle that
Satan wages on me every day. Thank you
for giving me the tools and weapons I need to fight an unseen force that tries
to trip me up and make me fall. I praise
You for giving me the strength of Your weapons to fight this ongoing
battle.
No comments:
Post a Comment