Are you ready for battle?
I have recently gotten back into reading and one of the genres I absolutely love is fantasy or romantasy. The worlds and characters that some of these authors create are absolutely mind blowing and once I start a book I love, you may not see me for the rest of the day or weekend.
One thing I love about these books is seeing how the protagonist/hero faces the antagonist/villain and how they come up with ways to defeat them. And, often, we see the villain trying to find the weakness of the hero to use to their advantage and great authors will leave you on the edge of your seat to see who will gain the upper hand.
We see both the heroes and villains spending so much time either trying to trick each other or learn more about each other so they can take advantage of each other’s weaknesses. Any crack in their armour can bring them down. Sometimes we see them trying to find certain relics or greater weapons that will surprise the enemy and defeat them. Knowing where to attack, where the weak points are is essential and can be the difference between being victorious or dying.
While I know these stories are fiction and a bit of fun, we are currently in a battle of our own. A battle not against flesh and blood but ‘against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world’ (Ephesians 6:12). Actually, this verse does sound like some of the books I read! But whereas in the books the heroes are faced with mortal injury, what we face looks a bit different, it ultimately ends up in a life or death situation but the tricks and weaknesses the devil tries to expose are much more subtle.
Paul encourages us in Ephesians 6:11 to put on the FULL armour of God so we can stand against the devil’s schemes. The devil tries to trick us and let’s face it; it doesn’t take much for him to succeed.
It could be believing the lie that you are not good enough, it could be making you scared to use the talents God has given you, it could even be making you think you are too busy to read the Bible or spend time with God. All these things don’t seem important, but they are essential to us as Christians and the foundation to us standing against the ultimate villain.
In order for you to stand strong God wants you to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, cover your feet with the gospel of peace, walk with the shield of faith, have the helmet of salvation and arm yourself with the sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God.
He doesn’t only want you to cover one part of your body but protect every part so there are no weak spots where the devil could attack. He also wants you to be able to defend yourself by having the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. Knowing what the Bible says and having God’s promises in your heart will allow you to counterattack the devil. When he tries to make you believe his lies you can find the truth in God’s word and know that you are grounded in Him. You will be prepared to face what life throws at you and with each attack you will become more skilled, you will become stronger and soon enough you will be a warrior for God.
Because we can’t see our antagonist it can be easy to forget he is there and his attacks could just seem like life getting us down. We serve a God who wants the best for us, who wants us to win and defeat this villain. He has given us the tools we need and prepared a way, so my question for you is: have you put on the armour of God today?