Spiritual Armor

Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

“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.”

Every time I read this verse, especially the part that says “put on the full armor” I get a clear picture of a Roman soldier in my mind. Each piece of the soldier’s armor has a specific purpose and can work together with the end goal of protecting the life of the soldier. 

This is the point of any armor, whether it be in ancient times, in modern warfare or what hockey and football players wear today.  The armor of God, or what I call spiritual armor, is there to protect us emotionally, mentally and physically. This kind of protection is what we need to keep our morals intact. What do I mean by that? Before I explain I want to jump back into Ephesians and read the next verse.

6:12-13 “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 veil 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.

We need to protect ourselves from any temptation or evil and be strong against it. We need to be prepared for that. Here are a few examples and how we can protect ourselves from it and even be prepared.

Emotionally -Pray daily and communicate with God 

Philippians 4:6-7 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your 

minds in Christ Jesus.”

Mentally-Read your bible 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Action-  In Matthew, Jesus said “let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds..” As a Christian, we need to walk in the light. Are the things we do, hear or say reflect Christ upon us? Another thing we need to think about is the people we are around. Are they good influences on us? Let’s read what the Bible says about that part. 

Proverbs 13:20- Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffer harm.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “bad company corrupts good character”

If you are a believer in Christ, or even if you aren’t, ask yourself this – is the person or group you hang out with good influences on you or are they bad influences on you? Do you feel like you make more bad choices by being around them? I know we are responsible for our own actions and choices but if hanging out with wrong people only makes the probability higher of our making decisions we will later regret, then we need to protect ourselves in this area. Yes, I know what you are thinking, that’s easy to say and hard to do, especially if we love them and care for them. Think about this, if this was your kid and you see someone being a bad influence on them, would you want your kid to keep hanging out with this person? No, obviously not. Just take this into consideration. 

If we don’t read about bible, pray (communicate with God), or try to walk with him we are exposing ourselves without our armor and put ourselves at risk. Without true relationship with God, it’s easy to wander away from the God that loves us. For example, let’s say you go to church Sunday for one hour but don’t walk with any other time, does that put you at risk? Yes, it puts anyone at risk. Temptation is everywhere and it’s going to be around every day. That’s why it’s important to put on the armor every day, not just one hour at church. Those of us that are followers of Christ know that God deserve more than that. Walking with him will grow us spiritually.

Try this, start out giving God 10-15 minutes of your time first thing in the morning before you do anything including reading your bible pray and have a talk with him. This needs to be a habit that that you form, instead of looking at your phone first thing in the morning, reach for your Bible. I think if you do this every day, you will feel different. You would feel lighter and probably even feel more unburdened. Are you wondering where to start in the Bible? Here is a suggestion, my Pastor has mentioned this in a sermon once. He said to start with Proverbs. Proverbs has 31 chapters so read the chapters on whatever day it is. For example, today is the 15th, so read chapter 15 in Proverbs. It helps me sometimes when I get stuck where to read. 

I pray this devotion will help you remember to put your armor on every day, not just on Sunday. Praying for you today as you read this. God loves you!