“We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the Evil One.” 1 John 5:19 (NLT)
Your alarm clock goes off and you can already smell the morning coffee brewing. Before your feet hit the ground you’ve already thanked God for waking you and have asked Him to forgive you for any bad thing in you. You stand up and wrap the belt of truth around you, slid the breastplate of righteousness over you. Your feet are stylin’ and profilin’ with the preparation of the gospel of peace, you grab that shield of faith, then you put that helmet of salvation on your head. Nice!!
You take a glance in the corner, and there it is, the sword of the Spirit, you grab it and go forward …then you prayerfully trip over the dog, bang your lower back against the bedroom doorknob and have just found out that the coffee pot as overflowed because the dripping mechanism got stuck in the closed position, again. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!
Now this may not be you but some mornings it’s me. I really should tell the makers of the Mr. Coffee machine about their design flaw but they already knew this back in 2012. Guess they’re still working out the bugs? Anyway…
As Christians, we are always encouraged to put on the full armor of God before we head out in Secularland. We’re told to be prepared for those “Spiritual Warfare” moments where disaster will strike outta nowhere, and in the infamous words of comic Brad Stine, we need to “PUT A HELMET ON.” But what happens when the common, everyday problems decide to intersect with spiritual warfare? I mean, I love our dog but Alvin has a habit of being in my pathway as I’m racing towards to the coffee maker to stop it from filling the pot with coffee grounds…again. What’s a boy to do when the day is starting to revel that it isn’t gonna be one BIG problem to solve but a whole lotta little ones?
Well, for me, I have to constantly remind myself that Secularland is under the influence of the Evil One and his government of minions. They’ll use tactics that’ll have me believing that I’m justified in reacting in the way that I do towards the things that will go wrong in a day. It’s okay to be angry, fearful and to seek an escape from it all. After all, it’s my world too and that should be enough for me to take a stand against defective coffee pots and animals that are too stupid to get outta my way!! (I got issues, don’t I?) But what I’m really doing is seeking the kinda justification that’ll make me happy in the way that I deal with those every day, unpleasant realities.
“And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15)
This rebuke in the Book of James should serve as a reminder to us that ultimately, we can’t blame the everyday battles we fall into as an excuse to lose our cool over the small stuff (or the big stuff for that matter). It’s in those moments that we should see our enemies at work. The world, the flesh, and the devil are all involved. This is the more the reason to wear the full armor of God. When you strip down all the fancy military metaphors from what we read in Ephesians 6:11-17 you see the seven basic elements that make you strong in the Lord. That’s why verse 10 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
So, what is it that makes you able to stand against the world, the flesh and the devil? Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer. These are the normal, everyday things that prepare you to go into the everyday battles of everyday life. We also need to be mindful that the Evil One likes to mimic God and he’ll put before you a list of self-help salvation ideas that are designed to keep you from seeking the real-help salvation we find in Jesus Christ.
At the end of the day, when the battle is over may we all see that what we’ve been given in Christ is all we need to handle the everyday battles. Will I ever win my battle with the coffee maker? Guess I better ask myself if that really matters (I like my Morning Joe but not if it’s gonna turn me into a manic). Will the family dog ever get outta my way? (well, he does on occasion) Will I ever fit into the armor? Probably. Will you ever fit into the armor? Hope you do. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net
Think About This: “Turning to Christ is to win spiritual warfare” – David Powlison
The Daily Bible Reading: James 5 | You can download our 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
