Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
(Ephesians 6: 11 ESV)
Scripture: Ephesians 6: 10-19
Have you ever had a power suit? We do – the armor of God. This devotion explores the different aspects of the armor that God provides for our protection from spiritual attacks.
Cliff Notes
- We can be secure in what Jesus told us.
- We must protect our hearts from Satan’s attacks.
- We need to prepare for what God has called us to do.
- We not only have to put ourselves under God’s protection, we have to grow in our faith in Him.
- We need to believe that God can forgive us of our sins.
- If we have the choice to remove the armor of God, it is our responsibility to put it back on.
Do you have a power suit? You don’t hear about them as much these days as you used to. You know what I am talking about — business attire that shows you’re the boss.
It is an outfit that, every time you wear it, you feel like you are in charge. You can solve all the problems thrown at you. You look the part of the up-and-comer.
Everything clicks that day. No bad hair day. You don’t have to kick the dog or hiss at the cat. You are a friend of the world, and the world is your friend. You look and feel and act like you are worth a million bucks. [Add your feelings in here.]
On the day you wear your power suit, you feel like you can do anything, be anything.
My Power Suit
I had a power suit once — at least I thought I did. It was a pretty lime green suit. Normally, I don’t wear green, but I thought I was the cat’s meow in it. The first time I wore it was when I sang a solo in the Sunday morning worship service. Man, did I look fine!
The second time I wore it was Easter Sunday. Man, did I look like a Easter egg!!! What changed? The suit didn’t change. My perception of myself did.
God’s Power Suit
Luckily, God has a much better power suit for us. In today’s vernacular, that is what God’s armor is — our power suit — but it is His power.
And the best part of it is that we don’t have to take it off to wash it! It does sound like it is removable, since it does say “put on the whole armor” (Eph. 6: 11 ESV). Maybe we take it off to sleep and then put it on every morning.
What Does This Mean?
Maybe we put it on due to the trials we are going through. Or if we are on the mountaintop, we shed it.
Maybe we only really need it when we are up against the devil. While we have it on, we are being protected by God. Hopefully, we don’t take it off.
Knowing God, it is our choice to put the suit on or take it off. He doesn’t force us into a relationship with Him. It is our choice.
But take off the suit, and what do we have? We are engaged in warfare whether we know it or not. “We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world” (Eph. 6: 12 CEV). We cannot fight the devil alone.
We can’t think normal military tactics to defeat Satan. “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world’s weapons but God’s powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments” (2 Cor. 10: 4 GNT). We have to be used of God in the fight.
How Do We Apply This?
Luckily, we are talking figuratively here. We don’t have to dress ourselves in metal every day. I know they used to, and the ladies say they are waiting for their knight in shining armor. But I know it was heavy and awkward.
Some of us don’t know much more about God’s armor, though. Let’s look at it.
Belt of truth — We think of belts as holding our pants up. Previously, the belt kept all of the garnets in place.
We can be secure in every truth that Jesus told us. “… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14: 6 NLT).
We can believe in Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. He accomplished all of this so He could pay the price for our sins. The truth of the gospel is that He lives and will come again so that those who believe in a Him can be with Him for eternity.
Because Jesus paid this price, we have been set free. Earlier, Jesus had also said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8: 32 NLT). We are free from the wages of sin (Rom. 6: 23).
Breastplate of righteousness — Proverbs 4: 23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT). As the breastplate in armor of old would protect the heart, believers need to protect our hearts. We must protect our hearts from Satan’s attacks.
Righteousness means being right with God, being holy as He is holy. Unfortunately, we are still in our earthly bodies. We still have the ability to sin. We have to protect ourselves — our actions, our thoughts — so that we are always the children God wants us to be.
Feet fitted for readiness — Proverbs 4: 26 says, “Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path” (NLT). We always have to keep careful watch that we are going where God is leading us. It is easy for us to get a wild hair and decide we are going to strike out on our own. We need to stay on God’s path.
We need to prepare for what God calls us to do. We need to get the skills and education to do our jobs. We need to be grounded in God’s Word.
Shield of faith — Psalm 18: 35 says, “You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great” (NLT). To me, the shield is to the body what the breastplate is to the heart. It is for our protection. It isn’t stationary like the breastplate. It can be turned to defend against the onslaught.
I would think, though, start swinging that shield around and it turns into a weapon at times. That would make it on defense and offense.
We need to protect ourselves in this world. We not only have to put ourselves under God’s protection (the defense), we have to grow in our faith in Him (the offense).
But read Psalm 18: 35 again. “You have given me your shield of victory …” (NLT). The victory has already been won. Okay, maybe we will lose some skirmishes in our war with Satan, but the overall victory is secure. We can put our faith and trust in that because it is the truth.
Helmet of salvation — The head is a pretty important part of the body. That is why it is protected.
We’ve talked before about our faith being in our mind. We also talked about how our changed minds control our sinful bodies. We need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior.
To read How Can We Corral Our Thoughts?, click the button below.
We also need to believe that God forgave us of our sins. We can’t keep thinking that God won’t forgive us of our sins. Matthew 12: 31-32 talks about only one unpardonable sin – rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit.
That helmet is good protection for when Satan tries to get into our head spreading his lies. With the belt of truth and the helmet of salvation, we should be ready for him.
Sword of the Spirit — Really, the sword of the spirit is the only offensive weapon. It is all we need.
Psalm 119: 11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (NLT). God is in our heart, and His Word is in our heart – it should be. We have to make sure it is.
Aren’t you so glad we have God’s protection when we are facing the devil? Aren’t you glad we have God’s protection at all times?
But remember what it says. If our perceptions change, we can take the armor of God off. It is our responsibility to put it back on to be prepared for the fight.
We can be strong in the Lord. Call it armor or call it power suit – God has the power to defeat the enemy.
Father God. You are so awesome. You are so powerful. You give us the abilities to stand up to the devil when he tries to take us from You. Help us to put on our power suit every morning so we will be ready when he does and don’t get caught lacking. Help us believe. Help us prepare for the battle. Give us courage and strength to fight it. Help us grow in our relationships with You. Amen.
What do you think? Have you thought about the armor of God before? Have you visualized putting it on during a difficult time in your life? Would that help you if you did? Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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