Armed For Battle

As I make my final preparations for my trip, I find myself under greater spiritual attack than any other trip I've taken. The evil one would have me believe that I shouldn't go, it's too hard to leave, it's too far away, it's too long to be gone, my family needs me, nobody can fully fill the void I'll leave, etc, etc, etc. Sure there is some tiny bit of truth in those thoughts. It is far away and two weeks is a fairly long time to be gone. Things won't get done exactly "right" or up to my standards while I'm away. My daughter will probably look like a mess for picture day, I'll probably come home to a messy house and mountains of laundry. Whoever buys groceries in my absence probably won't get the exact same things that we normally eat and I'm quite certain my kids will eat way more peanut butter sandwiches, fast food, and Popsicles than I allow. But. 

But God. God has willed this trip. As I spend my morning in the Word and in fellowship with my beloved Heavenly Father, I hear and see Him affirming over and over all the ways that He is in control of all this. 

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."(Psalm 34:4-7 NIV)

All my fears disappear when I lay them before God. Yes, I said ALL my fears. Satan has been very deceptive and manipulative as he paints very explicit mental pictures of all my fears surrounding this trip. The way he has manipulated my emotions has brought me to tears. Tears of pain, brought on by fear. But fear is a lie. And when I lay those fears at the foot of my Lord, they no longer burden or control me. As I tell people all the time, emotions make good servants but terrible masters. We can and should take control of our emotions, taking every thought captive and giving it to The Lord. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says "we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

Spiritual battle is real. If you think you've never experienced it, you probably didn't recognize it for what it is. I have felt it full force this week. So as I prepare my heart and mind for my journey across the globe, I looked to the scriptures on the armor of God. To my delight and joy, God spoke directly to me through His beautiful living Word.

"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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." (Ephesians 6:13-18 NIV)

First, the belt of truth. The truth is in His word. You cannot begin arming yourself against evil without first going to the Word of God. His truth says that we should not be afraid because He will never leave or forsake us (Deut 31:6). The truth is that God knows every single one of our days, has numbered every hair on our head (Matthew 10:30), and has ordained each day for His purpose (Psalm139:15-16). He desires to lavish His great love on us (1 John 3:1). He meets all our needs (Matthew 6:31-33). He will never stop doing good for us (Jeremiah 32:40). Whenever we seek Him we will find Him (Deut 4:29). Nothing can separate us from His great love (Romans 8:38-39). That's a lot of great truth. 

Next is the breastplate of righteousness. We have been credited righteousness through the belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That righteousness protects our heart, like a breastplate, through salvation. We did nothing to gain His love and can do nothing to lose it. That is how God shields our heart against evil. As it is written in Deuteronomy “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” (Deuteronomy 33:12, emphasis mine)

The feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel. I know that I am within God's will because He calls us to go (Matthew 28:19), to be His hands and feet, and to take care of the orphans (James 1:27). In following this calling and arming our feet with the gospel as we go, God gives us His peace which transcends all understand (Philippians 4:7).

Our shield of faith, like the breastplate of righteousness, shields us from evil and from all attacks. As it is written in Isaiah 54:17, "No weapon forged against you will prevail,and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,and this is their vindication from me." Our faith shields us from attack but we must remember that the battle has already been won. 

The helmet and the sword. The Word of God simultaneously protects us and gives us a weapon to fight back. Burying the word of The Lord deep in our soul through regular time in the word and scripture memory, protects our minds and allows us to replace the lies with the truth we know and profess. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2 NIV) The Word of God protects our minds from the lies and battles the enemies feeble attempts. 

Lastly, we never cease in prayer. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV) We cannot ever forget what an incredible, accessible tool we have in prayer. Direct communication to our Heavenly Father and perfect, continuous mediation through the Holy Spirit. 

How incredibly rich and applicable is the Word of God?!? As I walked through my battles, I hope you felt peace to fight your own battles. They can in every shape and size. Battles against conformity in this world, against our own will and our wild emotions, battles against those that persecute us and judge us, battles against all evil and injustice we see everyday. 

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4 NIV)

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:1-5 NIV)