Armor of God
Did you or your kids ever dress up when they were little? My children loved to put on costumes and step into another place and time. Laura had every Disney princess dress ever made. Sam, on the other hand, loved dressing up as a king, a cowboy or a super hero. He never failed to talk his sister into stepping into whatever “set” he had created. One of my favorite pictures of all time of the two of them is when he wanted to play cowboy and he used his leftover supplies to create an outfit for her. They looked more like Bonnie and Clyde than cowboys and cowgirls.
Bonnie and Clyde
One year for Christmas, Sam’s Grandma Mary and Papa gave him the Armor of God costume. It looked a lot like a Roman soldier’s armor and he loved it, because it had a sword with it. What’s not to love about having a sword when you’re five years old, right? He would use it to fight off the bad guys and was always, always victorious in his battles.
Ephesians 6:11-17 tells us about the armor of God we’ve been given for whatever battles we face each day. While ours may not be a plastic suit we put on each day, it is still just as real and when we put it on, we, too, will be victorious.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Our sword, just like Sam’s, is the key to our victory. Our sword is the Word of God and we can use it in battle. However, to be successful with a sword, you have to know how to weld it. Jesus demonstrated how in Matthew 4 when the devil was tempting Him in the wilderness. Jesus didn’t add to or take away from the Word. He quoted it and allowed it to be His defense. He didn’t pull out a bunch of scrolls and read them to the devil; He quoted God’s Word, because He knew it. This is one of the many reasons we need to spend dedicated time in the Word.
Do you remember what happened? While He had to whip the Word out three different times, ultimately, the devil left Him. James 4:7 tells us when we resist the devil, he’ll flee.
What kind of battles are you facing today? Do you have your armor on? Don’t forget your sword.
Leave A Comment