We continue today in with our examination of our weapons of warfare. We have already looked at the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness and feet fitted with readiness. To read about those please visit Weapons of Warfare (Part 2). If you have not read Weapons of Warfare (Part 1) please feel free to read that as well.
“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.” Ephesians 6:11-18
4. The shield of faith
In Biblical times the Roman shield was a pretty large piece of equipment. It stood about 3.5 feet tall, 16 inches across and weighted about 22 pounds. The purpose of the shield was to protect any area that was exposed after all the other armor was strapped into placed as well as pushing back the enemy in face to face combat.
The physical purpose of the shield has direct application to our spiritual lives today. Not only can our faith “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,” (Ephesians 6:16) but our faith can literally push our enemy out of the way. The beauty of taking up the shield of faith is just what Jesus tells us about faith… “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) We do not need to have piles of faith to see satan running for his life. All we need to do is put on just the tiniest bit of faith and watch satan flee! How awesome is that!
The issue lies in this, we choose not to pick up faith, rather we choose to pick up doubt, fear and unbelief when faith should have been our shield all along! (Related post: Time to Wage War.) Trust God at His word! When He says He will do something He will do it! That’s faith. Believing that God is going to do what He said He would do. Faith is summed up by simply believing that God is going to stay true to His character not matter how bad our circumstances appear. ( Related posts: Facing Our Giants, Faith That Impresses Christ, Believe And Not Doubt). So, pick up the shield of faith and watch satan flee. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee, not he might flee, not maybe he will flee. No! He WILL flee! Resist with the shield of faith.
5. The helmet of salvation
The helmet is protective armor for our heads, more importantly our minds. In warfare the enemy will try to attack the opponent's head, because if they can damaged the mind they take the soldier out of the fight. Satan is no different with us. How many thoughts a day do we have that are not godly? I know for me personally, it’s more than I can count. I would say it’s because most of the time I walk around without my helmet, which gets me into trouble. (Related posts: Time to Wage War, Being on Guard Duty, 5 Words that Hijack Our Faith, Unchecked Emotions And God's Faithfulness) Do you ever walk around with your mind as an open target for the enemy?
How do we begin to take authority over our thought life? I believe the first step is recognizing weather or not a particular thought is of God or not. The best way to do this is to measure it against scripture. Do the Philippians 4:8 test. I shared this in test in a post entitled “Being On Guard Duty.” So, if you are unfrmilulare with this test, go back and read that post. Once you have established the source of the thought, then it is a matter of lining that thought up with God’s word if it’s not already. Quoting scripture and rehearsing thankfulness are great ways to redirect ungodly thoughts.
6. Sword of the spirit
Thus far, all our discussion has been on items of armor, items in which we put on for our protection. We have yet to discuss any items in which we can use to do actual damage to the enemy. The sword is a weapon that was designed to destroy and kill. Our sword of the spirit is the word of God, and Hebrews tells us just how destructive the word of God can be.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
When we battle with the word we send satan away wounded. (Related post: My Battle Verses) The best part of battling with the word is not just the effects it has on the enemy, but it is the effect is has on our own hearts and minds. When we make a practice of hiding God’s word in our hearts it begins to change our thought life, our actions and our words. This is yet another reason why Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word can penetrate soul, spirit, joint and marrow. It gets inside of us and transforms us. I can think of no better weapon to fight with. Not only does it send satan away like a dog with his tail between his legs, but it strengthens our souls. There is your double edge! (One that wounds, one that builds up and strengthens).
7. Prayer
The last thing that Paul presents us with in this list of spiritual armor In Ephesians 6 is prayer. Prayer is the yet another weapon God has placed in our hands to do some serious damage in the heavenly realms.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
“Pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1
We are called to be consistent in prayer. How often do we get about ten minutes into our prayer and either get distracted or frustrated that we haven’t seen God do anything amazing and earth shattering? So often we get impatient with God. We are called to pray continually, pray without ceasing, and pray and not give up. God is not raising up a bunch of spiritual sissies here. He wants people who are going to fight for the kingdom! Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have in spiritual warfare, and when we pray the scriptures, satan doesn’t even have a chance.
Prayer is a conversation we have with the Lord. If we keep that conversation ongoing throughout the day then satan has less of a chance to interject his two cents. Because prayer is a conversation we must give the Lord time to speak. How many of us want to be in a conversation with a friend that we never are given the chance to talk because all they want to do is tell you everything that is going on in their life and the lives of those around them? Prayer really is designed to be a two way relationship and an ongoing conversation. There is no magic words we have to say, or special way in which we should say them. God knows our hearts, but bear in mind He desires for us to know His heart as well, and the only way that is going to happen is if we give Him time to speak.
For more on prayer visit: Prayer, Challenge # 10 - Pursuing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the armor to use in warfare. Give us the strength we need to take up the shield of faith to protect us against the fiery darts of the enemy. Help us to remember to always wear our helmet of salvation so our minds can be protected against the schemes of the enemy. Grant us the the desire to take up the sword of the spirit and do some damage in the heavenly realms. We know that prayer is how we build our relationship with you. Help us to remember that it is not just a one way conversation, but that you desire to share your heart with us as well. Help us to make the time to stop talking and just listen. Thank you for placing weapons in our hands and not just leaving us unarmed. Give us the strength we need to actually use these weapons each and every day. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
If you have not read Weapons of Warfare (Part 1) please fee free to read that first. It lays the foundation to this post.
What are these weapons?
God’s word gives us so many weapons we should wage war with. Please bear with me because I am going to cover many of these weapons, but note that by no means is this an all inclusive list. Please search the scriptures for yourselves to find out exactly what weapons God is calling you to fight with in your particular battle. Not all battles will require the same weapons, nor are those weapons going to be used in the same manner in every battle we face. Spend some time seeking God’s direction on what weapons you need to be fighting with and how you are to fight with them.
“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.” Ephesians 6:11-18
The most logical place to start examining our weapons is in Ephesians 6. This section of scripture introduces us to the armor of God. We will be looking at each individual piece of armor and the significance behind wearing it. Please note that some of the pieces we will discuss are for our protection while other pieces are for us to physically battle with. Each piece is important in our battle against the evil forces in the heavenly realms.
I want to mention quickly that verse 11 tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes. I don’t know any soldier who would go into battle and not wear ALL of their protective gear. I guess if you wanted to lose, become injured or die, you might consider going to war with parts of your armor missing, but in reality, who really wants any of those things to happen? Yet, this is what we do on a daily basis as Christians. We leave our homes for work, school, play dates, errands, and even church without getting dressed in our full armor. By not getting battle ready we are basically inviting satan to wreak havoc in our lives.
1. Belt of truth
In thinking about the belt of truth my mind immediately takes me to one place, the next generation. The belt is a garment worn around the waist. The body parts in and around that area deal with the reproductive organs. I truly think there is a reason why scripture talks about covering our waists with truth. My understanding of this is that we should be covering our children, both physical children and spiritual children with the knowledge of God’s truth.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4
Our children can never walk in a truth they have never heard. It is our responsibility to put on truth and in turn pass that along to the next generation as well. In doing so we will reap a beautiful harvest. One major aspect of waging war means sharing the knowledge of God’s truth to anyone who will listen.
2. Breastplate of rightness
The breastplate is used to protect vital organs such as our lungs and heart. I truly believe the key protection area is our heart. It is crucial that we protect our heart with righteousness. Please bear in mind that we can not produce the type of righteousness that has the capability of protecting our heart from the evil schemes that satan is skillfully planning. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” So in other words,the righteousness we need only comes from the Heavenly Father Himself.
“...For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45 When we allow the Lord to fill our heart with His righteousness, our mouths then become a vehicle for God’s righteousness to be spread to those around us. Protecting our hearts begins with allowing God’s righteousness to fill us and then allowing His righteousness to flow from us.
3. Your feet fitted with readiness
What good is it to get dressed for work in the morning if you never actually go to work? God not only desires us to put on the full armor, but to actually go and use it. Ephesians says that our feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. We can never be fitted for readiness if we don’t daily delve into God’s word. We should be so involved with the word of God that it affects the way we walk, the manner in which we carry ourselves, our demeanor, our mindset, our speech and our interactions with others. Our Heavenly Father desires for us to come to such an intimate place in our walk with Him that every aspect of our being reflects the character of Christ. We can not arrive at such a place without putting on the gospel of peace each and every day. I truly believe that the reason God desires us to ready our feet is so that we don’t keep Christ for ourselves. When our feet our equipped for readiness, we have a burning and urgent passion inside to share the things of God with others. It’s time to put on our running shoes saints. We are facing a lost and dying generation that needs to hear the gospel more than ever before.
To continue this series please read: Weapons of Warfare (Part 3).
Heavenly Father, please help us to put on the belt of truth so we can share your truth with the next generation with a sense of urgency. May we faithfully put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our hearts can be protected because we know that when our heart is guarded our mouths will speak forth the godliness that we have stored up inside. Fill us with diligence to lace up our shoes of readiness so that we may go wherever you are sending us and share with whomever you place in our path. Overwhelm us with an urgency to do battle in the heavenly realms.
In my last post, I challenged us with the thought of waging war with our sin nature. This truly is a big responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly. But, what exactly are we fighting against? How do we wage war? What weapons has God already placed in our hands to wage war with? And, where do we even begin?
What are we fighting against?
“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 6:12
So many of the challenges we face in this life are not just because we are merely human and make mistakes, or because things “just happen.” There is a much greater force at work than simply the little lives we live. Our Heavenly Father has plans and purposes for each and every life on this earth (Jeremiah 29:11). However, satan has plans too! The heavenlies are waging war against us, our families and our friends. Satan wants to annihilate all traces of God’s plans and purposes for us, and if he can’t completely knock God out of the picture he at least wants to keep us distracted enough so that God’s plans are no longer our priority. And satan will stop at nothing to see God’s plans derailed in our lives. We get ourselves into trouble when we don’t acknowledge the fact that there is a war raging in the heavenly realms. I have heard well-meaning Christians say “I don’t want to make this out to be a spiritual battle.” What is it inside of us that makes us think that the struggles we find ourselves in are not spiritual attacks? I can only assume that this concept of the heavenlies waging war for our souls is a topic that makes people extremely uncomfortable. It is an area we as humans do not understand nor are we able to have complete control over. And quite frankly it’s a scary concept to think about. It is this very entrapment of discomfort that satan is so eager to keep us entangled in, because living in fear of the unknown will, in fact, paralyze us from ever waging war. All the while, the situations we are facing are continuing to wage war with us. Can you see the dangers of not acknowledging the spiritual forces of evil working in the heavenly realms? They will wage war whether or not we acknowledge their existence. We might as well trust God when He tells us that there are spiritual forces of evil at work in the heavenly realms.
How do we wage war?
“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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Since God’s word tells us there are spiritual forces of evil that we must wage war against, the question remains of how do we wage war? According to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 God has given us weapons with divine power. These weapons are used to demolish strongholds, arguments (speculations), and pretension (a lofty thing) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. In other words, anything contrary to the word of God or the character of Christ we are to wage war against using the divine weapons that God has given us.
To continue this series please read: Weapons Of Warfare (Part 2), Weapons Of Warfare (Part 3)
Father, help us to believe you at your word when you tell us there is a spiritual battle going on in the heavenly realms for our souls. Give us the courage we need to wage war, to not back down, and to fight the good fight of faith. Heap upon us the fortitude that we need to use the weapons you have already placed in our hands to demolish strongholds, arguments and any lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of you. Fill us with the tenacity we need to wage war in the heavenlies! We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
One downfall I often see in the world of blogging is this illusion that the person writing has a life with few struggles and blissfully shares their advice with us. I have shared my frustration about this misconception with you before, but bear with me as I share it once again. The truth of the matter is that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) So, when this common misconception arises, let me be the first to remind you that here on this blog, all you will find is a woman who has dreadfully and woefully fallen short of God’s perfect glory time and time again. And to be perfectly frank, I will continue to do so, not because I am willfully sinning, but because I have a sin nature that I am in a raging war with on a daily basis and it is inevitable that I will lose a battle from time to time.
One of the biggest battles I continually find myself in is one that leaves me feeling smothered under the suffocating grasp of my own insecurities. I am haunted by my shortcomings so much so that I lay in bed at night, my pillow soaked from tears of inadequacy because I was reminded yet again that I have indeed fallen short of the glory of God. I can usually shake off the insecurities long enough to keep them from affecting my daily living. However, there have been times I have found myself to be so paralyzed by them that my family has suffered because of it. The difficulty with this is how to handle it. I have always had a hard time sharing what is going on inside and when I finally get brave enough to try I have already burned the bridges of people’s patience. So, since the patience is gone, I just hold it in and keep silent longer. This inevitably propels the situation into a full-blown nightmare! Oh, how I wish that I was blessed with the ability to sort through my emotions quickly and speak openly and freely about them! It is an incredible inconvenience!
The faithfulness of God
I thank God that His word tells us He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), especially in those moments of struggles. God is not an “Indian giver.” In other words, He does not give us something only to take it away. God gave us His word. His word never changes. He never relinquishes on His promises. What a treasure! As I ponder God’s faithfulness I am reminded of a dream that I heard many years ago and it was eventually turned into a song, entitled “Footprints in the Sand.” If you have never heard that song please click the link to view the song. It truly is a precious reminder that the Lord is always with us even when we feel like we have been left to fend for ourselves.
Not only is the very character of God faithful, but He also sends people our way to speak words of life when we need it most. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to give us a clear understanding of what is really going on. I recently had a phone conversation with a dear friend who understands what it is like to be in the trenches of motherhood, homeschooling, and ministry simultaneously. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she was able to speak such soothing words to my raging heart and mind. I can honestly say I walked away from that conversation with clearer vision. Not that my circumstance had changed one bit, but what had changed was my perspective. How many of us know that a right perspective on a situation can be the paradigm shift in a problem being resolved?
I thank God for giving me moments of clarity in the midst of the fog. If it weren't for those little clearings I would find myself continually lost in a sea of emotions unable to distinguish left from right and up from down.
Freedom
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6 (Emphasis mine)
This verse is such a beautiful reminder that in the very depths of our need, in the face of our weakness, and in the trenches of our inadequacies Christ died for us. He was and still continues to come and meet us where we are for the sake of saving us and making us whole. We truly serve a remarkable God. I don’t know of any other kind of love, but the love of Christ, that would come into to a life riddled with sin all because He wants to have a personal relationship with that life. This verse says we were powerless. Are there days when you find yourself powerless? I sure do! Christ died for you. Christ died for that sin in which you find yourself ensnared and engulfed with. He died for me in the throngs of my insecurities, in the depths of my self-doubt and in the pile of perceived shortcomings! Christ has given us freedom! He has placed freedom in the palm of our hands. The question remains are we going to carry that freedom and walk in it, or are we going to lay it aside and walk in our bondages? That is a choice I find myself struggling with on a daily basis. There are days I choose to walk in the freedom of the cross. Then there are days I choose to walk in my bondages. I am finding that when I walk in freedom I feel refreshed and light as if the chains have been lifted. There is a true liberty in my spirit. On the reverse side of that, when I have chosen to walk in the bondage of my insecurities, my soul feels entangled in an eternal war, my spirit is restless and my emotions run unchecked. The crazy thing about this is I find it more comfortable to lay aside the freedom of the cross and cling to my insecurities. Are any of you that way with their repetitive sins, or is it just me? Here is the kicker of that, it is a false sense of comfort in every way conceivable! By clinging to the sin of my insecurities, I am really clinging to self rather than to the Lord. I will never find freedom in myself. I must cast the cares of my insecurities upon the Lord, pick up the freedom of the cross and walk in it! This is a conscious, deliberate, and minute by minute task. We must be willing to wage war with the old nature before we can ever expect to gain victory over it.
The Lord will bring us to a place where we are so sick and tired of the sin that we find ourselves drowning in that we are ready to wage a very harsh and furious war with it. Are you ready to wage war with your repetitive sins? You may not be, and that’s ok, but may I encourage you to go before the Lord and ask Him to well up inside of you the will to fight. Ask Him to give you a desire to slaughter the enemy. Yes, I’m sounding morbid here because the enemy is not playing peaceable in our lives, so why should we? We have been given mighty weapons to defeat the enemy and we (myself included) have laid them aside too long and watched the enemy annihilate us without ever lifting a finger in retaliation. NO MORE!!! It’s time to wage war!!!!!!!!!
To read about waging war please read: Weapons of Warfare (Part 1), Weapons of Warfare (Part 2), Weapons of Warfare (Part 3)
Father God, I thank you for the place you have brought me. It has not been a fun road, but I thank you that I am finally ready to fight. Give me the of faith Abraham, the drive of David and the wisdom of Solomon to fight the good fight of faith. Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that this spirit of insecurity that I have allowed to inhabit my heart will flee! It has no authority in my life. I am casting off the burden of insecurity and choosing to walk in the freedom of the cross today! I thank you for the blood that was shed for my sins. I thank you that it has the power to cleanse, purify, and set me free! Lord, I realize that this is going to be a long and furious battle, but it is one I have put off long enough and I am now willing to go after it with all that I am. Father, may those who read this today be stirred to wage war against the sin that so easily entangles them. Give them the will to fight and to fight with grit and zealousness. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
