Tag: spiritual preparation

How did you dress this morning before you headed out the door to begin your day?

Chances are that no matter what you wore, you dressed for the circumstances and conditions you expected to face. If for an interview, you dressed well; if it was cold outside you probably wore a coat, if it was raining you probably wore a raincoat and carried an umbrella – whatever the circumstances or conditions you most likely dressed accordingly.

But wait! Did you dress for the guy that cut you off on your way to work? Did you dress for the bully who shoved you in the hall at school? Did you dress for the co-worker who is constantly harassing you? Did you know that as a follower of Christ, you’re supposed to dress for circumstances and conditions like those too?

Let me put it to you another way; a soldier puts on battle gear before heading onto the battlefield not once he gets there. Why? Because it will most likely be too late once his or her boots hit the ground and they will most likely suffer harm for being ill-prepared for the battle they were entering into.

Christian, do you know that every day, no matter the weather outside you are entering onto a battlefield? Take a look at the words which Paul shared to a group of believers in Ephesus:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 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 6:10–13, NKJV)

Everyday, we enter onto a field of battle. Our enemy is not the one who just passed you on the road driving like a lunatic, it is not Shakira and J-Lo baring all to the world during the Super-Bowl, it is not the bully who shoved you or the parent who mocked you or the co-worker harassing you – your enemy and mine is the devil and ‘the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” His methods, his scheming – his “wiles” and his minions are working to get you off track with God, to ruin your testimony and to trip you up before the very ones you were put here to reach in Jesus’ name. Often the devil wins the daily skirmishes between he and us because we did not dress accordingly for the day ahead. We went out in our own strength rather then the strength of the Lord “and the power of HIS might” (v.1).

Like our enemy, our weapons are spiritual – we don’t fight the devil with guns, knives and so forth; the best Kevlar won’t protect you from Satan’s fiery darts; “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God…” (2 Corinthians 10:4, NKJV). I know that I go on about this a lot but its because the vast majority of Christians that I have met do not dress accordingly for the daily battle that awaits them (see Genesis 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8).

So, what are we to wear for this battle? Paul lists six items:

• A belt (v.14a): “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…” To the audience he was speaking to, such a belt would enable a person to gather up the garment they wore so that they could move about without restriction. For the Christian, this is integrity and faithfulness that equates with blamelessness in my mind. It is hard to stand for God and against the devil with hypocrisy and personal condemnation (see 1 John 3:20-21) in our hearts but remembering the promise of God and applying those promises to ourselves girds our waist with truth.

• A breastplate (v.14b): “…having put on the breastplate of righteousness…” the (GK) word used here cannot mean justification in the sense of our salvation because we are not born again and again and again – believers are justified (set apart and delivered from the wrath of God) by faith (Romans 5:1) in the shed blood of Jesus (Romans 5:9) once and for all. For you and I, donning this breastplate is more about the daily consecration or setting of ourselves apart for God through sanctification or a personal commitment to doing the will of God.

• A pair of cleats (v.15): “…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” Roman soldiers wore cleated shoes or shoes with spikes on the bottom of them to give them a firmer footing in battle much like runners do on a cinder-track. To understand the point of the cleats Paul is referring to here take a look at (Philippians 4:6-7):

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

How many of us enter the day worried about this or that? Peace and worry DO NOT go together and in the above verse we find a way to plant our feet deeply in the gospel of peace. We cannot strive for souls or defeat the schemes of the devil against us if doubt or fear control us; to be sure footed for the day ahead we must stand in the peace we have with God (see Isaiah 26:3).

• A shield (v.16): “…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  The (GK) word thurĕŏs translated as “shield” literally points to its size – it was a “door shaped,” body length shield. The phrase, “Above all” in this verse is not to imply that this shield was the most important aspect of our preparation but rather the one part that goes in front of all the other pieces. While it is true that it is impossible to please God apart from faith (Hebrews 11:6); it is also true and apparent here that only by faith in Christ who goes before us and in His words will we be able to quench (by the power of God) the darts of temptation flung at us by the wicked one, Such a faith puts God between you and whatever the devil may throw at you.

• A helmet (v.17a): “And take the helmet of salvation…”  The last two items a Roman soldier would receive in preparation for some conflict would be his helmet and his sword. Just as wearing a helmet in baseball or football instills a certain level of confidence regarding head injury in the player on the field, the helmet of salvation instills a sense of confidence in the believer as he enters into another day.  Paul referred to this helmet in (1 Thessalonians 5:8) as “the hope of salvation,” literally the confident expectation of future glorification in and with the Lord (see Romans 8:30).

• A Sword (v.17b): “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” Every other piece of equipment named in Paul’s list is defensive and meant to be the means by which you are protected and prepared for spiritual battle but the sword is an offensive weapon. Defined as the word of God, we know that this weapon is super sharp (Hebrews 4:12) and because it is “a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart” it cuts deep and gets to the heart of every matter. That it is “of the Spirit” of God implies spiritual power over the direct assaults of Satan but how is it to be carried? It is my belief that in order for the Spirit to use the word through a person, that person MUST be immersed in the word. The word of God is not merely to be carried beside us but is to be memorized and stored within us; then and only then upon the assault of Satan in our lives can the Spirit call to our memory and bring to utterance in and through us the words which will silence him or cause him to flee.

Finally, constant “prayer” and “watchfulness…for all the saints” (v.18) is called for by the apostle. On the battlefield, soldiers have each other’s backs, so to speak; they watch out for one another and are ready to defend one another along with their position – they would be worthless to one another if they were not fully equipped and prepared. When we pray, we speak to Him who knows all things, asking Him to watch over, guide and equip us as Paul has described for the various battles we will face every day. Praying not only to be strengthened and empowered (see Ephesians 3: 16) by the Holy Spirit but also so that we would recognize both when the enemy is about to attack as well as when God would have us to speak, what he would have us to say and for boldness to declare it (see v.19-20).

My Christian friend, what circumstances and conditions are you anticipating today? Be it rain, cold or scorching heat you will never be adequately prepared for the day if you have not also planned and prepared for the spiritual battle that is sure to come upon you today.