Stand, Fully Armored

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.  Ephesians 6:10-13 CSB

If we want to see victory in our spiritual life, we are going to have to start with God’s view of the matter. 

Many times in our spiritual war, we get everybody else’s view on a matter, including our own. We may even have the facts, but we can have the facts and still not know the truth. Jesus said in John 8:32, only the truth can set you free. We can have information and not have the truth.

We can have emotions and not be responding to the truth. If you and I want to have spiritual victory in this spiritual war, that means we have to identify the issue—the subject at hand, the attack that we are experiencing, the evil day that seems to be coming against us. Then we’re going to have to rush to Jesus and find out what God says about that matter. 

Psalm 24:1 KJV The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. 

We live in a world where we have to deal with uncertainty, maybe more now than ever before. And in spite of trying to be intentional about avoiding the bad news that seems to overflow from the media - we can hardly escape the gloomy realities of these uncertain times. Could it be we have gotten all to used to quick answers and quick analyses? - and then throw in a global pandemic which seems resistant to any quick fix -  and many hearts become saturated with fear and anxiety. 

What is the remedy? Stand beside Jesus. Kneel before Jesus. Pray with Jesus. 

Stand with Jesus. Be consistent with your time spent in His presence. 

He is here within us above us among us.

In life, unexpected events roll us around, things we never saw coming. They can cause us to end up in a dark place, feeling confined and hopeless – in despair or depression.

These feelings might come from relationship break-ups, unemployment, money or health problems, a loved ones death. Sometimes we can’t  pinpoint anything… we just feel perpetually flat. 

Stand. 

Daniel 6:10 NET  When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously. 

When life presses in on us, we can feel stuck, angry, inadequate or simply numb. 

Stand. 

Spiritual armor is our daily dress code to help us stand in the “evil day.”  A bad day can happen to anyone.  It can begin with everything that can go wrong, going wrong. 

In those times we have to remember that the things happening around us are more spiritual than we realize. 

And sometimes it might feel like you don't have the strength to move- that’s ok - Jesus Christ fights the battle, all we are to do, is stand, rooted, entwined with Holy Spirit. 

Remember, if you put on the whole armor of God, it will be only an evil “day” for you, not evil daysss.  

That’s His promise.  The hard day will end and the next morning God renews His mercy. 

The enemy might whisper, “This evil day will not end; You’re a failure, nothing ever works out.” But because of Jesus we get to respond by saying: “away liar! you were defeated on the cross and on this day, I will stand strong in my position as a child of God and withstand your opposition with His light.” 

Actually- Try repeating it! I can’t tell you how many times Ive prayed something like that and by the grace of God the next morning everything is new and different with His eternal perspective not my “10 steps in front of me” perspective. 

1 Thessalonians 5:5-9 TPT For you are all children of the light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night nor to darkness. This is why we must not fall asleep, as the rest do, but keep wide awake and clearheaded. For those who are asleep sleep the night away, and drunkards get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, we must stay alert and clearheaded by placing the breastplate of faith and love over our hearts, and a helmet of the hope of salvation over our thoughts. For God has not destined us for wrath but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.

God didn’t give us spiritual armor to help us avoid an evil day but to help us avoid becoming evil people due to those trying days in our life. 

God's armor is given to us so that an evil day doesn’t turn into an evil week or an evil month or an evil year or even an evil life.  

The enemy’s strategy is to use the hard days to turn us into a dark person. But God gives us a solution: His armor. It will limit how long that evil day lingers. When hardships and hard choices come- and they have and they will - don’t panic. 

Put on your royal robe.