Do you ever feel like no matter what you do or no matter how hard you pray, you feel like you’re running an uphill battle? Have you heard the expression “The battle is God’s and not mine”? This my friend is spiritual warfare.
The devil loves to be that nagging voice inside your head, “you’re worthless”, “you can do just one more”, “you’d be better off dead”. He can drag us into a dark pit so deep that we feel like we can’t get out. It seems like the more we ask for God’s help, the more you become the Devils playground. So how do we fight a battle that’s not on this realm but a spiritual one? Ephesians 6:10-18 (written by Paul), gives us our instructions.
The Armor of God
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
So what does this mean?? Let’s take a look at our Battle Armor:
Belt of Truth: a belt holds everything else together. When we live a life of truth and integrity, it becomes a place holder for all of our other tools in our arsenal. A life of integrity isn’t easily torn.
Breast plate of Righteousness: a breastplate covers your heart and other vital organs. The righteousness that guards our heart is our belief in Christ.
Footwear of readiness for the gospel: we will flee temptation. However, I also like to think this refers to us sharing God’s word with others. Using our feet to spread the word.
Shield of Faith: When Satan attacks us, our faith in Christ lessens the blow. We are able to withstand the attack because we know whom we have believed. 2 Timothy 1:12
Helmet of Salvation: A helmet protects our brain, specifically our minds. It also signifies that we belong to Christ.
Sword of the Spirit: The sword is our Bible. I like an acronym I heard before that the Bible stands for: BASIC INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE LEAVING EARTH.
Prayer: We often forget to pray. This is what activates our armor. We need to remember to take our cares and worries to God. Psalms 55:22 tells us: Cast your cares on the lord and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.
So the next time you feel like you can no longer stand, kneel!
The Carpenter’s Daughter 