The Armor of God: Introduction

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10

If you find it difficult to successfully battle the "wiles of the devil" it could be because you have not put on the "whole armor of God," but just one or two pieces.  This is why I feel it is so important to study each article of armor individually and how it relates to our walk with the Lord. This will be a series of blogs written by my husband and me as we look at each individual piece of armor.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:11 

In order to understand the importance of the armor of God, you need to understand that spiritual warfare is very real, and not just an allegorical term created by the apostle Paul. Although we are not to become obsessed with them, demons and angels are real and they are in a continual battle for your soul.  In Luke 22:31, Jesus told Simon Peter that Satan, "desired to have [him], that he may sift [him] as wheat."  Just as with each of us, Satan wanted Peter's soul and was fighting against him.  But, the good news is, also just as with Peter, God is with us and for us! Jesus assures His disciple in Luke 22:32, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." The Lord and His angels fight for us, but we must do our part and actively put on the whole armor of God daily. 

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.  Romans 13:11-14

Romans 13 describes the armor of God as  an "armour of light."  Such a beautiful description and such a perfect way to explain why it is so important to us as Christians and what we must do to stay clothed in God's armor.  

Because there will be much more to say about the full armor of God, I will end with an excerpt from my husband's blog, "Understanding Spiritual Warfare" https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2022/10/spiritual-warfare-written-by-my-husband.html

"It is very important for the Christian to understand spiritual warfare, since we have an adversary seeking our destruction. God’s Word tells us that Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan is also referred to as the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. One of Satan’s tactics is to stir people up in anger towards God. Many people blame God for the problems that they experience in this life, and they are oblivious to the fact, that there are two opposing kingdoms at work in the earth.... The truth is that we live in a war zone, and the battle is over the souls of men. If you belong to Christ, then you are in the Lord’s army, and Satan’s kingdom has declared all out war against you. But the good news is, greater is He that is within you than he that is in the world, and if you remain in Christ until the end, you will inherit eternal life. If you have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, then you have the power to live an overcoming life, as well as the authority to put the devil to flight. In these last days, it is crucial that all Christians receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, in order to be able to stand firm in Christ, against the many snares of the devil."      

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:12-18

Learning to Stay Within God's Will

  

I originally wrote this in 2018, but the lesson of consequences of going outside God's will always stay with me!

One of the biggest lessons God has been teaching me may be the hardest for me to swallow because it includes a huge slice of humble pie.  In order for me to share this lesson with you, I have to admit that I have been a stubborn, willful, untrusting child of God. 

In order for me to make this story a complete picture, I must go back to May 2017.  I had applied to a job at fast food place and had been called for an interview.  Because I had previously worked at the local school and was food safety certified, the boss was very interested in hiring me but wanted a face-to-face interview to be certain.  The night before the interview, I prayed that if the job was not within God’s will that either I or someone else would be sick and the interview would be cancelled.  I was sick all night with extreme nausea and stomach pain.  But was this just psychological because of what I had prayed?  Maybe, but what was not a coincidence was that the boss called me half an hour before the interview to say his wife was ill and he would have to cancel and reschedule the interview.  I saw this is a definite sign and chose not to reschedule.  I was not certain why God had chosen to block me from the seemingly harmless job, but I could not pray a prayer asking for a specific sign and then ignore it when God answered.

Now, fast forward to January this year (2018).  Feeling weary of being broke and struggling to pay bills, I began believing God was not interested in our lives.  Yes, I love God and He loves me, but does He really care about every detail?  One day, when driving back from an errand, I noticed a sign on the door of the same fast-food place I had applied to the previous year.   I asked Mel to pull into the parking lot to see if it was another “Help Wanted” sign.  Yes, it was.  In spite of God blocking me from the same job eight months prior, I filled out another application.  I remembered how enthusiastic the boss had seemed at my prior kitchen experience and knew I would be called for another interview.  Sure enough, he quickly called me again, and even remembered that he had called me in 2017.  This time, I did not pray for God’s will to be done.  I decided that if God really cared about me, He would understand the need for more money.  I was hired on the spot.

I trained on days for my first four shifts but was moved to nights my second week (I only worked three days a week).  Night shift is responsible for the majority of the cleaning, which includes all the dishes.  Well, my first time being exposed to the sanitizer, I began coughing and I could feel my chest tighten.  Next thing I knew, my asthma attacks began increasing.  Up until then, the asthma had been controlled with a daily inhaler and I only needed my rescue inhaler 7-10 times a month.  I had been using my rescue inhaler 3-6 times a day!  Last time my asthma was this bad the doctor said it could cause me to go into respiratory failure and/or end my life, which is why I now take the daily inhaler (Note: again, this was written in 2018, I no longer need a daily inhaler. Praise God!!)  Less than two weeks into the increased asthma attacks, I had developed bronchitis, a as bloody nose, double ear infections, and a throat infection.  It is obvious I was allergic to the sanitizer as I had also been itching and had a mild rash.  I tried my best to stay at the job, hoping the antibiotics would make me better, but they did not.  I spent every day for at least a month with increased asthma attacks as well as feeling generally very sick (I won’t go into it all).  In spite of the need for money, I finally decided I had enough of feeling so horrible every day.  Also, remembering the doctor’s previous warning about increased risk of lung failure, my sweet hubby was very worried about my health, so I resigned.

So, why am I telling you all this?  To remind not only myself, but my readers as well, that when we go outside of God’s will, we cannot expect to be protected.  Remember that God had answered my prayer in 2017 and showed me the job was outside of His will.  In His foreknowledge, He knew my weak lungs would not be able to handle the chemicals used, and that it would literally place my life at risk.  Yet in my stubborn pride and refusal to believe that God cared about my needs, I rebelliously took the job God clearly had blocked me from in the past. 

We cannot jump off a cliff and then demand that God must save us.  When we do something we know is against His will or against the laws of Jesus Christ, we cannot expect divine protection.  It is not God’s fault I was sick and suffering, it was my own because I disobeyed His will.  I spent time in serious repentance for arrogantly believing God really did not care about my life and that He really did not care if I took that job or not.

I have learned my lesson.  I will always pray over every application or résumé I drop off (as I have done since 2018).  If God shows me any job is the wrong fit, I will immediately back off and move on.  In fact, I am going to do my best to better adopt this attitude for everyday life experiences much better than I have ever done before.  Whether it is looking for a new job, writing a blog or book, looking for a new place to live, or even what book to read, I am going to do a better job of listening to God’s Voice and following His signs.

From now on, whenever I am so arrogant to believe my will is better than the Almighty’s will, I going to focus more on Isaiah 55:7-9, especially the last two verses: 

Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 

I will no longer fight God’s plans for my life, nor disbelieve His love for me.  I am also going to strive to better believe in Romans 8:24-28:

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  

There is so much beauty in those verses how can I not see how much God cares about my life?  The Holy Spirit intercedes for us to try to keep us within the will of God.  When we love God and are called for His purpose (not our own), God will work things out for our good.  I have heard verse 28 my entire life, so how could I still be so thick-headed that I still have the nerve to purposefully stray outside God’s will?

Another favorite Truth to remember is found in Jeremiah 29:11-14:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord.

God only wants His best for His children.  When we seek Him, we will find Him.  If I had prayed again before my second interview, I am certain God would have again blocked the job because He does not want “evil” for my life.  Excessive asthma attacks are not part of God’s will! 

Although bad things typically happen to us when we refuse to stay within God’s will, I want to make it clear that not all bad things are our fault as we live in a fallen world where man’s rebellion causes the innocent to suffer.  So do NOT believe that every time you are sick (or something else bad occurs) that God is punishing you.  It was clear the added asthma attacks had been because I had rebelled but having asthma in general is not a punishment.  However, with that said, I am still going to do better to let this lesson permeate my life and control my actions from now on!

Pursuing the Fruits of the Spirit: Self-Control

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control). Galatians 5:22-23

There are countless ways in which we can choose to exhibit self-control, most of which are obvious.  It is also apparent that pursing self-control is indeed an active choice.  When you drink alcoholic beverages, smoke, take drugs, swear, have sex outside of marriage, cheat, lie, steal, gamble, etc., you must first make the conscious decision to go against God’s laws.

Let’s look at the verses directly before the above scripture that speaks of the fruits of the Spirit:

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish... Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21

Can it be any more clear that our works do indeed matter?  If you do not exercise self-control and “practice such things [you] will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  When we pursue the Holy Spirit and His purity, when we make a daily choice to “walk in the Spirit,” it is so much easier to live a life of righteousness than when we try to rely on our own strengths.  Human nature is carnal and wants to please only itself.  But when we remember that there are consequences to our actions that will hurt others, it is easier to say “no” to the sins of the flesh. 

God does not expect us to live a dull life, He specifically designed us to enjoy pleasure, but we must do so within the laws He designed to protect not only us, but others as well.  For example, sex outside of marriage creates diseases, unwanted pregnancies (which can lead to the murder of an innocent baby), broken marriages, etc.  Yet, sex within marriage is a fun, beautiful, bonding experience and enhances married life.  Before you choose not to exhibit self-control, stop and think of how your actions will most likely hurt someone else and remind yourself of how you would feel if you were on the other side of an affair, a theft, a lie, gossip, etc.   

We are all faced with many temptations throughout our lives. There are too many to name, some of which I am sure I am not even aware.  God, however, knows our weaknesses and The Bible promises that He will always give us many opportunities to escape all temptations, and thus exercise self-control. 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. I Corinthians 10:13

All one needs to do is walk away.  It really is that simple.  Better yet, do not even get to the place where you need an escape.  You would not intentionally walk across four lanes of heavy traffic at night in a big city wearing all black, so why would you put your walk with the Lord at risk. For example, if you are addicted to pornography, turn off the Internet and television and do not pick up filthy magazines.  If you are so tempted that you cannot even turn on the Internet without going to the ungodly sites, cancel your Internet service. 

Other than simply walking away from the things and people that tempt us, we need to pray a wall of protection against our family and ourselves.  When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them they should ask to be kept far away from unholy enticements.  Remember to ask God to keep you from evil every day and be proactive by pursing self-control and walking away when you know it is the best course of action. 

For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.   Matthew 6:8-9 & 13

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.  Matthew 26:41

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. II Timothy 3:3-7

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; or so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 1:5-11