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. (Ephesians 6: 14-17 NIV)
Recently, we’ve been looking at different portions of Ephesians 6 that teach us about the full armor that God has given to us. This armor outfits us for battle against the powers and principalities that are part of Satan’s army. Repeatedly, we are warned to stand firm (verses 11, 13 and 14), so I felt it would be a good idea for us to take the time to ponder what that means.
As the Body of Christ, we are called to be ready to participate in this battle. It is important that as new creations in Christ, we show character and integrity in our daily lives. We were created in God’s image, but after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, all of humanity was born in the image of Adam. Our nature resembled his, instead of God’s. (Gen. 5:3) When we receive Jesus into our lives that all begins to change, and over time we become transformed into Christ’s likeness…restored to God’s image.
The Holy Spirit changes us on the inside, and we are strengthened for any oncoming challenges, as we commit to immersing ourselves in the truth of God’s Word regularly. Our thoughts and minds are renewed by God’s Word, but we need to be intentional to, “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:5 ESV) by choosing to agree in our thinking with what God’s Word says. Satan will lie to us at every opportunity, and another person’s view is limited, so even well-meaning people don’t know as much as God.
The challenges we each face will likely differ greatly, but while we don’t know the future, God does. It’s important that we “…walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) When we do that, the possibilities are endless. As Eph. 3:20-21 (NIV) says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Every time I think about that, it puts me in awe of God…He is able to do above and beyond anything I could even think of. Wow! He has many good gifts in store for us. He longs for us to turn to him in prayer, and to seek Him. Living in anticipation for the good things to come alleviates the fear of the unknown.
John 10:10 (NIV) says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” We tend to think of the full, abundant, eternal life that Jesus offers to us as in the future only. Some of the biblical resources that I referenced, agreed with my belief that Jesus’ words in this passage have a deeper meaning. I believe that the life Jesus promises to us is for the present AND into eternity.
A powerful assault that the thief, Satan, uses against the Body of Christ is our thought-life. When he can entice us to think contrary to God’s Word, he can successfully diminish our expectancy of God’s great plans for us. He causes us to feel unworthy of God’s love, grace, forgiveness and mercy. Then, we think that we need to work for, and earn all of these things. He freely gives His gifts to us. We don’t need to count on ourselves to achieve righteousness (right standing with God). That would be impossible. But, the glorious reality is that our righteousness is in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:30)
Standing firm in preparedness for the battle is a daily choice. Our heavenly Father, Almighty God, has given us everything we need to be victorious. Through clothing ourselves in the armor He has provided, we will become more than conquerors. We need not retreat in fear, as God’s love for us is perfect and complete in every way. He has made a way for us to be successful.
My prayer is, “Father God, Thank you for your provision of the full armor that I will need to stand firm as I face daily battles. My strength and security is in You. Please help me to endure through every circumstance. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.”
