The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

What does it mean to be strong in the Lord?  As Paul opens his conclusion up with this statement, it makes one wonder what does he really mean?  Does he mean we should lift weights in church?  Maybe we should bench press cases of bibles every day.

There are many verses about God’s strength throughout the bible.  I was contemplating quoting them all, but then you would just have a list of bible verses.  They can be found here if you want to dig into them.  The point I draw from the Lord’s strength and might is not relying on our own power, but having faith in His.  Paul says it in verse 12 that we aren’t fighting against physical elements, rather spiritual.

This might seem like a bunch of hocus pocus to some, but this realm of spiritual warfare is very real.  If you don’t believe me, here are a few examples:

Stop thinking about that woman or man that just walked by; forgive and forget what your friend, family member, or coworker did to you; pick up your bible and study it for a half hour; tell somebody Jesus loves them (that doesn’t know it); stop on the side of the road and help someone with a flat tire; call someone you haven’t talked to in years and have been ignoring because of your last encounter with them; get up early on a Sunday morning and go to church.

The list is endless and we all have these things in our lives that for some reason, even though we try or talk about it, we just. don’t. do. It is in His strength that we can accomplish this.  It is with His might that we can make a change, not just in our lives, but in the lives of others.  Whether or not you believe in God, Christ as your Savior or anything at all, you cannot honestly deny that there is a spiritual war that we are caught in the middle of between “good and evil”.

 

 

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