Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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 saints."
We often find ourselves questioning, "why is God letting this happen?" That may be true to a degree, but we must remember that we have free will and the path we are on is not necessarily the path God had chosen for us and that Satan is the ruler of this world.
As I read this passage I thought about preparing for battle, the movie Gladiator or 300, comes to mind. One point that is easily over looked, faith is our shield. The shield to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one; when our faith is small and fragile so is our shield and the more effective an attack will be. If our shield falters or we refuse to utilize all the protection that has been afforded to us, we will find ourselves bruised and battered.
I personally believe that the closer we come to fulfilling God's plan for our lives, the closer we come to him the more intense the attacks will become. Satan wants nothing more than to keep us on the sideline, isolated, and believing the lies of inadequacy and being unworthy. The truth is no man is worthy, but through Jesus God provided a way to enter in to a relationship with him. The relationship we were designed for. Sometimes it is not God punishing you, it may just be a test of your faith to make your shield larger and stronger - prepping you to be able to survive future battles with ease.
If you find yourself in a place of doubt or you are in the middle of an attack, take the time to look in a mirror and inspect your armor. Is it polished and new or broken and brittle? Are you really hiding behind that huge shield, or is it really a piece of cardboard the size of your fist? Our relationship with God is not about what we bring to the fight, it is about our heart and our willingness to be real with God and allow him to mold us into what he intended us to be. It is not easy to be real, to take off our masks and honestly look at ourselves. Our society is full of ways to change what we see in the mirror and making our reflection be what WE want it to be. God only asks that we be real and humble ourselves and allow him to change our heart... as the heart changes the body and mind will follow.
What are you preparing for? For a battle? Or the sidelines?
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