Armor of God

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the WHOLE armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil i nthe heavenly places. Therefore take up the WHOLE armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Those of us that have grown up in the church have heard the full length of this passage a few dozen times but it recently has made me step back and exam it further. The passage doesn't say "put on some of the armor" or "try to put on at least a few pieces each day".. it says "Put on the WHOLE armor of God". Do I put on the whole armor? It's difficult to remember to strap on my shoes fitted for the readiness given by the gospel of peace particularly when I really want to yell at that person for doing exactly what I just asked them not to do. Or, do I remember to whip out my sword of the Spirit in response to other people thereby responding to someone's questions through scripture and not through my own opinions. This is a hard one for me particularly because if you know me at all you know I'm rather opinionated and yet I'm so very human. What a better way to combat my humaness than to be so equipped with scripture that I can respond in God's perfect words instead of my human and imperfect narration. Another striking piece of the armor is the belt of truth. Wow, here's one I often throw over my shoulder but don't fully fasten. There is only one way to truth and righteousness and those ways have GOd in them. HOw often are we led to leaving some important details out or amplifying the story just a bit to make ourselves sound better? If God truly is in control then we need not exaggerate at all- He's got it and He'll make our lives great- if we let Him and don't screw it up!

I'm sure you're familiar with the rest of the pieces- the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith. It amazes me that we're suppose to carry all of that each day, each moment. It shows our great need to spend time alone with God to be able to carry all of this equipment!

I'm also sure you know the days when you haven't carried all of your armor. It's the days that your lose your temper and someone gets hurt. The sad thing though is that because of sin we're bound to mess up. Even when we have the armor on there are times when evil arrows will find their ways through but take heart because GOd has overcome the world. Focus on each piece for each day and "keep alert with all perseverance" (v18). If you do, I can promise life will be worth fighting for- yours and others.