Armor Up: Part 1

Ephesians 6: 10-18 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Last Sunday, I heard a message titled,” Built to Last, Dressed to Win”. The reference text came from Ephesians 6:10-17 and focused on the whole armor of God. I would love to go through each piece of the armor. However, I want to focus more on the topic of spiritual warfare. Friends, we are engaged in battle whether we realize it or not. We are fighting for our peace, health(physical, mental, and emotional), families, salvation, faith, and so much more. 

    The truth is we are so enthralled in the natural that we often fail to recognize that a whole new level of warfare is taking place in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6 and verse 12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. We have a real enemy; it is not one of flesh. Our enemy is Satan. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He comes to steal our joy, peace, and anything else he can get our hands on. That is why we must not be unaware of the enemy’s schemes as instructed in 2 Corinthians 2:11. We cannot afford to be distracted by anything that will keep us from being vigilant and aware of what the enemy sends our way. The Father desires for us to be skillful soldiers in His army. He has given us everything we need to be victorious. He wants us to be able to stand our ground when the enemy comes and tries to invade our lives. 

      One of the things that I love about God is that He is always looking out for us, His children. It’s part of His character as a good father. He prepares us even when we are unaware. I heard that word Sunday morning; the same evening, the enemy attempted to attack my family. Immediately, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Armor Up!” and began to remind me of the seed of the word planted in my heart earlier in the day. Although I was a bit baffled, a great sense of peace came over me. My initial response was not to get upset or respond in my flesh. I resolved to hold my peace and stand still to see the salvation of the Lord. That has been my position until this day. When we understand that our enemy is not people but the one behind the scenes orchestrating the attack, we can cover ourselves in what God has given us. We can remain in godly character in the face of opposition. We can pray for those who wrong us and love them anyway. We can allow God to work on our behalf and lead us by the still waters. We can rest in green pastures. 

What battles are you fighting today, my friend? Are you a good soldier? Or have you resorted to fighting in your might and power? Let me tell you. You won’t last in your self. We can only withstand the fiery darts of the enemy in the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and HIS mighty power. Ephesians 6:11 goes on to instruct us to put on the FULL ARMOR of GOD so that we will be able to stand. 

Armor Up, Christian Soldier! Armor Up!

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