Full Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-18
10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12)For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of the wickedness in the heavenly places. 13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand. 14)Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16)above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17)And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints -
WOW what a huge chunk of advice! I’m sure just because of the date and location that the book of Ephesians actually describes the Roman soldiers uniforms. So it’s easy for me to visualize an actual uniform while reading the scripture. But I don’t just want to visualize it I want to absorb and understand what this scripture means for ME spiritually. So let me do my best to break this scripture down in smaller, more manageable chunks.
10 is pretty self explanatory to me but when I get to 11 I want to slow it down a bit. The part, “that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” stand? Just stand? Now I don’t know about you but in real life if someone is coming at me with ill intentions, just standing there is NOT an option! Bracing myself for the initial impact is about as close to standing as I could imagine, and that is ONLY after running, hiding or defending has been eliminated. So why just stand there? After some quick research I realized the biggest difference between me and a soldier is discipline. Military soldiers are highly organized. They have a clear cut system of rank, divisions of the unit, and the legion. I can’t imagine any infantry unit doing well in any battle if it weren’t for the discipline. To stand and wait for orders as the enemy is quickly approaching, just the thought makes me anxious! But I understand “to stand” much better, it’s all about discipline.
12 again is fairly self explanatory to me, a fight in the flesh is throwing some punches and hoping your punches land with better speed, force and accuracy than your opponents. A spiritual battle is something WAY different and harder (for me anyways) but definitely more important! Verse 13 here we go again with the “stand” but I understand what that means now I need to be more disciplined. Sometimes I arm myself for battle and go charging in AAAARRRR only to find there is no battle (or should I say the only battle was in my head). And other times I may start the battle making a bigger deal out of something than it needs to be. Neither of those instances show much discipline.
There is another part of verse 13 that grabs my attention “the WHOLE armor”. Oh how many times have I not taken up the WHOLE armor? It doesn’t say okay just take the parts of armor you think you’ll need today. It doesn’t say hey just protect your heart, or your head, no it says WHOLE armor. Now the Roman infantry could mostly rely on just their sheer number of men, which were many. But that wasn’t always the case, each battle may require new strategy. The leaders had to take many things into account such as the type and strength of the opponent and the terrain for instance. Regardless of what the leaders strategies were each soldier needed to be equipped for whatever battle may be fought that day. They put on their WHOLE armor so they would be prepared that day for anything. They were able to adapt because they were equipped. I couldn’t tell you how many days I had things planned only to have life throw me a curveball that I wasn’t ready for...STEEEERIKE!
On to verse 14 here we go again starting out with “stand” okay okay I get it I need to be more disciplined, geeeesh! Let me look into “girded your waist with truth”. Now I don’t know what this actually means theologically speaking (I’m no theologian) but right away a girdle comes to mind. Now personally I’ve never worn a girdle nor do I plan to. I picture a woman hands clenching a bed post with another lady with her knee in the woman’s back pulling with all her might to get the girdle as tight as she possibly can. Now it may be a bit of an exaggeration but these are my thoughts and my blog so I can take things to extreme if I choose (sticking my tongue out). Anywho gird your waist with truth. There’s a saying “truth hurts” and well sometimes it does! So my exaggerated thought on a girdle might actually be quite pleasant compared to some truths I’ve had life deal me. But I’ve found it’s always better to stand on a scary ledge of truth then in a pit of lies that eventually swallow you up.
Next up verse 15 walk in peace is a pretty simple interpretation. It may be a simple interpretation but to always walk in peace isn’t always easy, especially when you are around those that incite so much conflict and drama! It’s a hard road but totally worth it, keep trying. Verse 16 I find pretty motivational really. Too often I take matters into my own hands, and that isn’t always a bad thing but there are times when just knowing who my God is and having faith is really all I needed. Too often I’m ready to jump in, when I should be quicker to have faith. I can worry myself sick (literally) over something I can not change but if I were to take up that shield of faith, oh how much stress and anxiety could I shed?
Verse 17 at first I thought that it too was pretty self explanatory but then I slowed down to actually think about what it was saying “helmet of salvation”. We all know what a helmet is designed for, to protect our head right? I instantly recalled a time when I was thrown from my four wheeler and though I wasn’t injured I immediately began thinking about all the what if’s and it scared me! Yes I was wearing a helmet and always do to protect my head. What about the helmet of salvation? It can be something to protect my mind. I mean think about it, how often does the enemy play tricks on our minds with what if’s? Sometimes in my case, he’ll just outright lie and my mind starts to wonder (helloooooo Eve moment). If I am wearing the helmet of salvation, ohhhh protect the mind helmet, protect the mind.
And finally onto verse 18, what nuggets do you hold for me? Prayer, what an easy thing to do but too often my last resort. I know you’ve heard it or maybe even said “Prayer is all that’s left, I’ve tried everything else”. Now I’m not saying prayer is ALWAYS my last option but especially when it comes to the “big” things. But I will admit I haven’t always been as quick to pray as I have to speak (can I get an amen)? Another piece of golden knowledge, “being watchful to this end”. Ooooh come on Bible preach it! So so so many times as soon as I think I’m out of the woods, I drop my guard and BAM, life sucker punches me! Or I wasn’t even watching and SPLAT just like that I’m knee deep in the mud with no rubber boots! I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS need to be watchful. Not meaning I can’t enjoy the carefreeness that life offers but there needs to be a balance and that can be had through prayer.
So self, you learn anything? Hopefully how to STAND!
Then your family’s adventure begins. And yes the whole family (or party) can play. In our case my granddaughter is always always always the map reader, I am usually the talisman keeper, and my husband is the best at making it all seem so real. Each adventure begins with a map and a starting point. Once you have found your first stop, you will use the talisman on the appointed area to reveal the next clue. Trust me when I say some of these stops are so fun, things rising out of the water, cannons firing, of and watch out for the hidden enemies. I won’t go into great detail as to not ruin the magic for those of you that may read this.
