Day 20- Full Armor
Half way through my 40 days, I can look
back and see each day building on the one before.
I see that God is showing me some essential elements
to my faith in Him, why those elements are important
and how to use them. Today I’m seeing even more
how those elements fit together and why we need ALL
of them.
I have a little card in my wallet that
has Ephesians 6:10-20 on it- The Whole Armor of God.
I’ve read it, I like it, but I never bothered
to learn it or really dwell on it to try to understand
it fully. I had the opportunity to look into it a
little more this morning.
We’ve all heard of armor and we
know it’s worn in battles, but I thought I’d
look it up to see an actual definition and maybe see
if there’s something about it that I didn’t
know or had made wrong assumptions about. In the Holman
Bible Dictionary, arms and armor are defined as instruments
and body coverings for defense and/or protection.
Nothing surprising in that definition, but what struck
me was defense and protection. I
think of soldiers entering battle and I think of someone
ready to fight. But armor is to protect, defend, keep
safe. Looking at the armor of God in Ephesians, I
see there is only one offensive weapon, but it is
all to protect and defend.
I was also thinking about armor and
how important it is when you’re in battle. You
need every piece of your armor on to keep you safe,
from your shield to your shoes, if something is missing
you’re giving the enemy an opening to attack
you in a weak, vulnerable, unprotected area. An area
you may not even be aware is unprotected.
Paul lists out the full armor of God
that we need to wear in the order we should put it
on, in the order a soldier would put on their armor
for battle. The first piece is the belt of truth.
The belt, or girding of the loins, is to protect one
of the most vulnerable areas of the body. The truth,
knowing God’s Word, is the most crucial part
of the armor, because it is the first thing you need
to put on for your armor to be effective. The second
piece is the breastplate of righteousness.
In Roman times the breastplate went around the body
protecting the front and back of the chest and abdominal
areas- most importantly protecting the heart. Righteousness
is given by God through Jesus when we place our trust
in Him. You cannot have righteousness unless you first
learn and believe the truth.
Next the feet are covered with the preparation
of the gospel of peace. The gospel is the
power of God for salvation through Jesus for all who
believe. One we know the truth and accept it, we should
be willing and wanting to go share it with everyone.
This is oftentimes when people stop putting on the
armor. We put on the belt and the breastplate, we
feel secure and don’t see signs of trouble,
so we stop putting the armor on. But the preparation
of the gospel of peace isn’t just to spread
the news, but to defend it and be able to move quickly
if the enemy suddenly attacks.
The shield of faith
is the next piece of armor we’re to pick up.
Faith in God is a shield that protects against and
can withstand all fiery blows from the enemy. But
many of us are trying to pick up the shield and use
it without having put on our shoes of preparation.
We might be able to hold the shield up for a while,
but if you are not able to move because of lack of
preparation and knowledge, you are a sitting duck.
The helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit are the
last two pieces of armor. The helmet of salvation
guards our minds. Once you’ve accepted Christ
as your Savior, you can rest in the knowledge that
He has already won the ultimate battle on our behalf.
At this point, the enemy’s tactics and attacks
will pale in comparison and fall by the wayside. Some
people accept Christ as Savior and try to put on the
helmet only assuming they are safe and secure. Eternally,
yes, but here and now on earth you become a “spiritual
streaker.” Sorry, it’s a goofy analogy,
but it really is so true! With only your helmet on
and nothing else, you are completely exposed here.
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and it’s
our only offensive weapon we need to take into battle.
We need to know the Word of God intimately so that
we’ll know the specific word that needs to be
spoken in a specific situation. This isn’t just
memorizing a bunch of good sounding verses. This means
to know His Word and what it means in context so that
you can understand when you need that Word and how
to use it. If you are a soldier with a sword and you
start swinging it around aimlessly, you will be an
easy target to knock over even if you have your armor
on.
Paul says that in addition to wearing
the armor we need to be persistent in our prayer.
We can have all the right gear on and have some great
battle moves in mind, but if the timing is off, we
set ourselves up for failure. We need to pray with
patience, listening and waiting on God for His timing
to move and to speak boldly.
Wow Lord,
What a difference I see in these verses this morning!
Thank You for showing me all of the armor I need,
and what sometimes I forget to put on. I see that
this armor is all for my protection here. And if I’m
missing just one piece, I can be easily attacked while
I’m not even aware. Please help me to make sure
I have all the pieces of armor required and show me
how to wear them and use them for my best protection
and for the protection of those around me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
