The Battle & Our Armor

By: Joanne Viola

Life is a battle. If I may be honest, some days I forget this. And then come the days, when life brings the reminder as the battle is fierce. Perhaps that is where you find yourself today so may I share some of the reminders which helped me lately.

“A final word: be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11, NLT)

It is the Lord’s armor and only by the Lord’s protection that we are able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Not some. All.

Let’s take a closer look at each part of the armor He has provided for us:

• The belt of truth. “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth …” (verse 14a, NLT). We can stand firm in the truth of God’s Word. We need not be a victim to any of Satan’s lies.
• The breastplate of righteousness. ” … and the body armor or God’s righteousness” (verse 14b). It is His righteousness which guards our hearts from evil, keeping us pure and holy and protected by the blood of Jesus.
• The shoes of peace. “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared” (verse 15). The peace which comes from the Gospel can shine through us and be a light to all we encounter even in the most difficult of days.
• The shield of faith. “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil” (verse 16). We need not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat but can be ready for the enemy’s fiery darts which try to get us to doubt, deny, or believe lies.
• The helmet of salvation. “Put on salvation as your helmet …” (verse 17a). We are to keep our mind focused on Christ and not give the enemy a stronghold on our thoughts. We are to keep our thoughts protected by the assurance that we are indeed saved and belong to God.
• The sword of the Spirit. ” … and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (verse 17b). We are to respond to the enemy’s attack either with the spoken or written word of God. We can use God’s Word to expose the tempting lies of Satan and send him fleeing.

We are to be wise and recognize the reality of the evil and dangers we face in the spiritual realm. However, we need not live in fear for God has given us all we need to defeat the enemy and stand firm. The enemy is no match for the powerful Word of God in our lives.

“Keep in mind as you face Satan’s tricks of deception that you cannot fight him on your own, with your own methods, or even with your own thoughts. God’s Word—His truth—trumps Satan.” (Tony Evans)

 Do you remember to put on the full armor every day?

We can be armed and ready and overcome
as we fight our battles in the mighty power of Christ. 

 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash