“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.” Ephesians 6:10
When things are going pretty well for us, we may forget, but we face a spiritual war with an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy. This world is truly a battlefield. We must be wise in resisting Satan’s tactics. And nothing can protect us like God’s weapons – prayer, faith, hope, love, His Work, and the Holy Spirit.
Over the years, I’ve had a difficult time understanding who Satan is and how he works in our lives. I can’t help but picture a red man with horns and a pitchfork as he is often depicted. I know for sure that he is often trying to get in my mind and up in my “bizness”. So I decided to do a little more research on who our enemy is and how he impacts us.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Who really is our enemy? Here are some descriptors of Satan from the Bible:
- He is the Father of lies (John 8:44)
- He leads the whole world astray (Revelation 12:9)
- He is a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10)
- He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour (1 Peter 5:8)
- He disguises himself as an angel of light, attempting to make sin look good and evil enticing (2 Corinthians 11:14)
- He is a tempter who lures with sex, money, power, greed and lust (Matthew 4:3)
- He lords over what brings death (Matthew 12:23-24)
- He is crafty and manipulative (Genesis 3:1-5)
- He will try everything possible to throw roadblocks in our path and to stop us from being fruitful (Matthew 16:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:18)
He will attack us:
- In our weakest and most vulnerable moments.
- When we don’t expect it and let our guard down.
- When we think we can handle things and have it all under control.
- When we’re making a difference for God’s purposes.
How do we protect ourselves? We need to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against Satan. The armor of God doesn’t sound particularly fashionable or comfortable. But can’t be much worse than spanx and pantyhose. And it’s much more beneficial! Let’s learn more about this 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”. Ephesians 6:10-18
As it says above, the components of the armor of God are as follows- the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.
There are different interpretations but here’s what I got from studying the topic.
- The belt of truth refers to the truths of Scripture as opposed to the lies of Satan.
- The breastplate of righteousness covers the heart and shields it and the other vital organs. The Bible says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). That is what Christ’s righteousness does for you.
- The shoes of the gospel keep our feet anchored and standing firm when Satan tries to mess up our footing.
- The shield of faith protects us from attacks of the evil one. Roman soldiers carried shields that were covered with heavy animal hide. They would dip their shields into water before going into battle so that the wet hide would help extinguish fiery darts. Similarly, the shield of faith must be regularly dipped in God’s word.
- The helmet of salvation is the knowledge that as believers we have been rescued from our own wickedness. Our salvation (given to us through our faith in Jesus) says that our sins are forgiven and that we will spend eternity in Heaven.
- The sword of the spirit is the Word of God and is the greatest spiritual weapon. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, the Word was always His response to Satan.
In addition to putting
on the armor of God every day, here are some things we can do to protect
ourselves from the enemy.
- Be alert, have our defenses up, and be ready to protect ourselves – even when it seems that things are going well.
- Submit to God’s authority. Resist Satan and he will flee.
- Know that, in Christ, we are forgiven. We have His mighty power working within us and for us.
- Know that He is for us. He is with us. He fights for us, even when we’re not aware. Satan does not have the final say over our lives!
Ladies, we are spiritual warriors. With God’s help, we got this!
REFLECT
What will you do to protect yourself against
the enemy?
