13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The Armour Of God
Can I be honest with you? Sometimes I wonder if we miss the whole point of something God is trying to say to us because we are too quick to analyze every word and figure out a formula from every passage of Scripture.
How’s that for a mouthful!
Take the armour of God mentioned in this passage. If you’ve been around the church for any length of time, you’ve probably seen picture like the one to the right, or heard sermons preached from this passage where the speaker will dissect every part of what Paul mentions and how it all fits together.
I’ve heard preachers provide prayer formulas in which you systematically place each part of the armour of God on (spiritually) before you start your day. (“Lord, I place your helmet of salvation on my head and ask you to transform my thoughts by the renewing of my mind. I take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God and I use it to break through the lies of the enemy …”)
Now, if that works for you, great. But don’t miss the point of this passage.
Ultimately, what Paul is really saying here is we are dependent on God. We need him. Every moment of the day, we need to trust in God’s ability. As a follower of Christ, the only way — and I mean only way that we can succeed on this spiritual journey is by leaning completely on God. When we move ahead without him, we will fail.
Leaning completely on God means changing your lifestyle. Whether it’s how you think (helmet of salvation), what you use as your foundation for truth (sword of the Spirit & belt of truth), or the way you approach a situation (Gospel of peace), we must depend fully on God. Without him we fail. With him, we can do all things.
So, be careful of formulas. I don’t believe they truly get to the heart of what needs to change in order for us to depend on God.
My prayer: Lord, I need all of you. Yes, I need to put on the armour of God, but I do that by changing how I live. It starts and ends with complete submission to you. All through the day I must rely on you. You are my source of strength. You are my source of peace. You are the one I trust in. Completely. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
