Armor Up! // Ephesians 6:11

We are living in a time of peak spiritual warfare. Do you feel it? It really isn’t anything new, but it feels different. Words are being redefined, traditions reordered, and reality reshaped. The whole idea in this evil barrage is to get us to question what we believe to be true. It seems to start simply enough with a compromise here and a concession there. Before we know it, someone or something has greased the slippery slope so profoundly there is a fear it can never again be scaled. So what are we to do? The Apostle Paul called it putting on the armor of God.

It is vitally important we understand the nature of this armor, lest we grab our familiar and convenient weapons thinking we are armed for battle. Spears and arrows, bullets and bombs are not sufficient for the kind of battles that rage around us. No, we need God’s armor…we need God’s help. I encourage you to read the full section on the Armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18, but I will summarize it here for your quick reference:

• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Shoes grounded in the peace that comes from knowing the Gospel
• Shield of faith
• Sword of the Spirit in the Word of God

The battle cry for donning the armor of God is prayer. These prayers can be long and they can be short. They can be scripted and they can be lifted with a heartbeat. Regardless, the purpose of prayer is to remind us of one central fact: the battle belongs to God…period. We might get wrapped up in it, and have a role to play as well, but we are not alone. So, holding fast in faith to God’s truth, God’s righteousness, God’s peace, and God’s Word. The Lord is the Commander in Chief and the battlefield general. Follow God. Trust Him to protect and direct you. And most of all, armor up with the tools He gives you to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.