By RaeLynn DeAngelis
A few days ago, I looked out the sliding glass doors of our home and noticed a teenaged boy exercising. It caught my attention because of the strange location he had chosen to exercise. He wasn’t in yard. He was in a greenspace by the road. I watched for a few moments, intrigued by his quick and practiced maneuvers. He would jog up and down the gully next to the road with quick intermittent sprints, and then he would begin ducking and punching at the air with seemingly accurate precision. It looked somewhat strange, as if he was boxing an invisible enemy.
Almost immediately, I began thinking about how we really do have an invisible enemy and how we need take time to prepare ourselves for any future battles we will likely face.
“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” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
The passage then goes on to explain how we will be most effective in our spiritual battles. First, we are told to stand firm. Standing firm and at attention puts us in a position of readiness. It lets the enemy know that we are not going to take his shenanigans sitting down. We are at the ready, like a soldier standing on the frontline.
In addition to standing firm, we need to be dressed and ready for battle.
“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).
Each part of our spiritual armor is crucial. For example, the belt of truth ensures that our walk with God is not compromised by living a lie. As the saying goes… “don’t get caught with your pants down.” The enemy is always looking for an area of weakness in believers, a place where he can gain foothold. Lying puts us in a place of vulnerability where the enemy is sure to attack.
Living in truth is our first line of defense against the enemy’s attacks. At Living in Truth Ministries we are here to disciple you through the truth of God’s Word so that you can know, grow, and live in God’s truth.
Even more important than the belt of truth, we must be covered with the breastplate of righteousness. This is vital part of our spiritual armor. It protects us even when we do fall prey to sin. The breastplate of righteousness is placed upon us the moment we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. Because we in and of ourselves are not righteous, we are fallible and imperfect, we need the covering of Jesus Christ so that we are continually covered by His righteousness.
Next, we have the boots of peace. When we go into battle, it is important to remember that our enemy is not flesh and blood. Man is not our rival, Satan is. But Satan, the father of all lies, is very good at manipulating us into thinking that people are the real enemy. He does this by creating division among us. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Everywhere you look there is division stirred up, even in the Body of Christ. We must remember… united we stand, divided we fall.
The helmet of salvation minimizes fear, giving us assurance of eternal life in heaven. No matter what happens in the physical realm or how fierce the battle becomes, the enemy can’t take away our salvation. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). We can stand in confidence.
And finally, the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit. The shield of faith protects us from the flaming arrows of the enemy. In faith we can stand firm because the battle is not really ours… it’s the Lord’s. We deflect the arrows coming at us with one hand, knowing God’s got it, while our other hand wields the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. Satan fades fast when a true warrior of faith proclaims the Word of God with boldness and confidence. We can speak God’s truth boldly like David spoke when he faced Goliath:
“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:45-47).
Friends, we are in a battle at this very moment. Everywhere we look, we see the enemy’s deception and division. He is trying to destroy this earth, but he will not win.
Here’s the truth. This enemy has no real power. That’s because, contrary to popular belief, not only is this enemy invisible, he is also powerless. Do you know why? The battle has already been won. That’s right, Jesus Christ defeated the enemy when He took away our sins, nailed them to the cross, died, was buried, and rose from the grave.
For this reason, the only power the enemy has is the power we willingly give him when we don’t trust the power of God through the blood of Jesus. We have the victory! Our victory is in Jesus. Praise the Lord. Halleluiah! Amen.
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