Devotionals

Armor of God

Introduction

Today I'd like to share with you a part of Scripture that talks about putting on spiritual armor in the fight against the devil and his demons. This may not seem useful to your life, but the fight against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms is much more real than we may believe. We'll take a look at Ephesians 6:10-20 to see why it's important to take a stand by putting on the armor of God.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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. 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
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So what does that mean? Even though you may not realize it, there's constantly a battle for your heart between God and the devil, and this battle is fierce. Whenever you feel temptation to do something you know you shouldn't do, that's the devil trying to win you over. He whispers lies in your ears, telling you that you're already too far gone and that one more mistake won't matter. To fight against the devil in this battle for our hearts, we need to live intentionally and focus on these metaphorical pieces of armor. First, let's start with the belt of truth.

Back in biblical times, Roman soldiers wore belts not only to distinguish them from common folk but for support in battles. They're weren't simply fashion accessories as we sometimes use them now. When the verse tells us that we should stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waists, it's reminding us that truth is our support when we're in the midst of a battle.

If we get caught up in a situation where we have to make a choice between right and wrong, how do we decide what to choose? While some people may solely rely on impulse and instant gratification (whatever makes them feel good in that moment), we should seek wisdom from the Bible. In other words, read His truths so we can recognize any deception or lies that may surround us.

Furthermore, we can't just passively believe, we have to make sure we're seeking God's truth in everything we do. We have to be so grounded in His truth that there's no way we can believe any of the devil's lies because we are so confident in His love for us. I could go on and on, but let's look at the next piece of armor that God wants us to take advantage of: the breastplate of righteousness.

During battles, soldiers wore breastplates to protect major body organs (most importantly, the heart). When an enemy tried to attack, the breastplate was meant to deflect any harmful weapons such as swords or arrows. The verse that talks about the breastplate of righteousness shows a comparison between these two things. Righteousness is like a breastplate because it guards our hearts from sin. The sacrifice that Jesus made for every single person achieved a true sense of righteousness that we ourselves could not achieve. It is a guard against anything Satan throws at us, although other pieces of armor like the shoes of readiness are important too.

While they may not be as well known as the belt of truth or the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness are just as important. Think about why we wear shoes: to support our feet and help us to get wherever we need to go. Similarly, readiness is being fully prepared for something. When we wear the metaphorical shoes of readiness, we're acknowledging that Satan has a plan to attack us and that we are choosing to prepare a defense against him. Without readiness, we have no plan and may be prone to attacks.

Yet another important thing is the shield of faith. Since faith is the belief and trust we have in God, it acts as a shield to the things Satan tries to hurl at us. When we hold onto faith during a rough spot in life, it's like we are holding onto a shield that can protect us. Yet faith relies on truth; without truth, how we would we know what to do in faith? While the previously mentioned pieces of armor are to be worn on the body at all times, the shield of faith is to be "taken up" whenever Satan is on the prowl in his attempts to mess you up.

Like many of the others, the helmet of salvation is something that protects the body from harm. Salvation, which is being free from sin and its consequences, happens when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Can you see how many of these pieces of armor tie together, both physically and metaphorically? It doesn't take just one piece to fight off evil, and it's not enough to have faith if you don't know what the truth is. Since salvation is a gift from God, we should wear it as protection against Satan and his plans of ruin.

Lastly, the sword of the Spirit. Since the Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit, or God inside us in simple terms, it is easy to see how it fights off whatever Satan uses in an attempt to harm us, much like a sword. God's power inside us isn't some weird myth that doesn't exist. In fact, it's very real. While we may not physically wear these pieces of armor, we should be cautious of anything Satan might try to use against us and what values (truth, faith, readiness, righteousness, etc.) we should be sure to hold onto.

All in all, there are a few key things to remember when Satan is trying to get you down or distract you from God's purpose for your life. First, stand your ground. Don't retreat or be afraid. With God on your side, you have nothing to fear. But how do you stand your ground against something that you can't see? Prayer is essential in fighting off Satan and his tactics. We also have to live intentionally, making sure we don't just go through the motions. This is easier said than done, I know.

Our struggles are against evil forces, not flesh and blood. Pray long and hard for your brothers and sisters in Christ, and keep your eyes open. The last thing that I want to mention are two songs that I feel relate to this topic. First is Eyes Open by Taylor Swift and the second is We Won't Be Shaken by Building 429. I'll upload the first song and put a picture of the second song. Thank you for reading this devotional, I hope you have a great day!