“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the 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.” Ephesians 6:11-13
This is a very familiar Scripture. I believe it bears reminding that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood though it often FEELS like that is where the battle lies. It FEELS like our conflict is with our neighbor over their pet or our co-worker over their laziness or our spouse over their failure to help with chores or… well the list goes on and on. We need to remind ourselves that our enemy lies in principalities, power, rulers of the darkness of this age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We have a very real enemy that “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” John 10:10.
We need be sure we come dressed to the battle:
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:14-17
“That God would tell me to ‘take up’ and ‘put on’ this gospel armor alerts me to the fact that I do not automatically come into each day protected by the gospel. In fact, these commands imply that I am vulnerable to defeat and injury unless I seize upon the gospel and arm myself from head to toe.” It’s not automatic. It’s easy to think as believers that we are automatically protected, but the Bible clearly says to PUT ON the whole armor of God.
Be ready. Be armed. Be dressed. Take action.
Written by Diane Hunt: Diane Hunt serves on the board of America’s Keswick and is the Executive Director & CEO of Changed Choices, a Christian non-profit in North Carolina. She is also a biblical counselor and women’s event speaker. For more information about having Diane speak at your next event please contact her at dhunt@americaskeswick.org.
