Armor of God

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Armor of God and how seriously I need to take being “armored up” before entering certain situations here. It is a need in every situation, but I’m finding I need to specifically remember the gear the Lord gives me in the spiritual realm and intentionally go into situations remembering that I’m in a battle. 

In our team meetings we often start with meditating on Scripture together. Yesterday we read the verses in Ephesians 6 about the Armor of God in the Message Version. 

10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. 

 

As we were processing these verses as a team, a couple things were highlighted that I’m still chewing on.

One is that the weapons we are given to fight our spiritual battles against the evil one are “set out before us” by God. That means they are at our disposal… but we have to choose to pick them up. This is active. A soldier isn’t protected from battle if he doesn’t remember to put on his gear or actively fight back. It’s the same in the spiritual realm. I have to consciously and intentionally remember that I have gear! I’m not vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy when I am armed with protection from the Lord. This looks like standing on the truth of what I am promised in Scripture. God will never leave or forsake me. He is fighting the battles with me. I am not alone. All of these promises are my weapons. 

Another thing that was mentioned by a teammate is this is a communal process. So often, I picture individually needing to put on my own armor and fight my own battles. However, just as these verses state, we need to “Pray for our brothers and sisters” and “Keep each other’s spirits up”. We help each other battle. Just as we need to remind ourselves of truth, we also need to call out lies to each other and remind each other of truth. 

I was listening to a podcast recently that said “the better we get at identifying lies in our own lives, the better we will be at doing it for others”. When we are well practiced at something, we can apply the skill in other ways as well. 

We are currently in a season here where there is a lot of spiritual darkness present. I’m being challenged to see that one of the most important things I can do right now is “pray hard and long”. So often we think of prayer as a fall back, last resort. However, that is completely inaccurate. It is the most essential thing we can do as we battle for God’s light to enter the dark places of this world. It’s also the most essential thing we can do as we battle for God’s light to impact our hearts and call truth to lies. 

God provides everything needed to battle darkness. When I choose to arm myself with what is provided for me, it not only gives me the strength I need, but makes me strong enough to help those around me in their battles as well.