The Armor

Ephesians 6:10-18

Do you ever wake up in a funk? You’re down, sorrowful, depressed – for no good reason, then little things pop into your head and you sink lower and feel like you are a nothing?

That is a run-on sentence, but I am making a point. Why do we live like this? We sink low, and then believe every thought that pops into our head. We see future our life not measuring up. We see the wrong skill set being used. We see a dark, gray, cloudy reality, that is not truth – and we remain in it.

I was feeling that way today. I started praying about it, asking about it, eating icing… and then I came upon a verse:

Romans 12:2 ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.’

I realized this is a pattern of the world, to sink low into a pit. To stay in an area where you don’t fit, and to be down and discouraged. None of that feeling has anything to do with the Lord. Today is a new day – filled with hope and expectancy.

My questions is – how did you start off the day? To be honest, my sleep pattern has been different lately, so I sleep longer, and don’t want to get up… therefore I wake up late, struggle to get ready on time, and whatever thoughts are floating around in my head stay there, and I give in to them. By the time work starts, I do my tasks, misread what people say and suddenly it’s 11:00 and I am in a huge funk.

Where did I take the wrong turn?

It’s 2-fold. We are in a battle. The longer we sit around depressed and reading Facebook, the less we do for the kingdom of God. The more we pay attention to tweets, Instagram and social media, the more we obsess over things that aren’t necessarily reality.

We have a savior waiting for us to come to Him. He is willing to intercede on our behalves – we just have to choose to go to Him and ask Him. I learned a valuable practice years ago, and I could kick myself for not keeping the habit…

  1.       Put on the full Armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 explicitly explains the battle we are in, and what we need to do to fight. I believe if we all got up, greeted the morning with God, and asked for His help, put on His armor – then we would be ahead of the game. Choosing Him as a shield instead of our human emotion… Maybe it could look something like this: wake up – say – Good morning Lord – I am coming to you to rest in the shadow of your wings. I am asking for protection from you. Your word tells us to put on your armor, so by faith I am putting on the…

a.       The belt of truth – (wouldn’t it be better to believe who we are in God instead of the lies we tell ourselves everyday, ie. Not good enough, won’t measure up, they are better at it…)

b.      Breastplate of righteousness or body armor – (someone described this as discernment, so I prayed to discern/understand the voice of God, the will of God, the way of God.)

c.       Shoes of peace – (know his peace, and know the gospel – that is why we are saved – Jesus – and we are safe and secure under his blood and protection. Also have it on your lips to tell others about His grace.)

d.      Shield of faith (hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.)We have protection – put it on in faith and extinguish those lies and attacks coming at you. For we battle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and darkness of the air. Pray for those who attack, and against the unseen forces.

e.      Helmet of salvation (once again, we are covered head to toe by the blood of the Lamb – live under that protection with confidence!)

f.        Sword of the spirit (the Word of God.) Our weapon of defense is the word of God. Here’s how it works…

                                                               i.      Lie -‘not good enough’: Truth- Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;’ 1 Corinthians 6:20 ‘For you were bought with a price.’ 

                                                             ii.      Lie: ‘God doesn’t want you / care about you’: Truth- Psalm 139:16 ’Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall be saved.’

                                                            iii.      Lie – you are going to fail in the future: Truth – Jeremiah 29:13 ‘for I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper, not to harm’

                                                           iv.      Lie – God will never fulfill this promise he gave you: Truth – Joshua 21:45 ‘Not one of all the LORD's good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.’  Psalm 91:4b ‘His faithful promises are your armor of protection.’

2.       Believe Him - God has given you His word. It is time to act like you believe it. It is time to stand on it – and if you don’t know what it is, then it is time to get in His word.

The rest of the verse He gave me today?  ‘Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.’

Moral of the story:

If we choose to meet our day with the Lord, hide in the shelter of His wings, and put on His armor, then we will no longer conform to the pattern of this world.  At the moment our minds are renewed, we think differently. We are confident, we are assured of who we belong to. We are ready to walk toward a calling, and we hear what He has to say. Then – when we are trudging through trying to live, we can actually test and approve what His will is for us.

Doesn’t that reassure you? You are loved. You are cherished. You are bought with a price. It’s time to live with the one who paid for you J