“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. 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 6:10-12
This scripture suggests that we cannot be weak Christians. With all we are facing now, we have to be strong. Weakness is why many people are falling by the wayside. You cannot stay strong without eating, spiritually or naturally. In order for our spiritual man to be strong, we must thrive off of the Word of God.
We have to put on the whole armor of God and be fully dressed for battle. When you think of armor, you think of getting prepared to fight. The Bible lets us know that we have an adversary (1 Peter 5:8) and that adversary is out to destroy us. It doesn’t matter who you are, how much power you have, or how much you testify that you are saved, the devil is out to destroy you and he’s going to try you. He is trying to destroy the entire church and that’s why we have to put on the entire armor of God so that we can stand against him when he comes.
The Bible gives us some insight on the devil: He fights dirty. Jesus tells us in St. John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” We are literally in a fight with the devil and it’s not only a spiritual fight, but a physical fight as well. Sometimes the devil attacks us in our bodies, sometimes he will come through our family, and sometimes he’ll even use our friends. There are even times when he’ll attack your mind, and if he can control your mind, then he has you beat. So, we must put up a defense. There is no such thing as a low blow when it comes to the devil. Since he fights dirty, we must be prepared to resist and endure. Just like in any battle, we may get wounded, but we cannot give up and quit.
Satan has many ways to try and hinder or stop you. The closer we approach to the return of Christ, the devil is going to apply more pressure to try and turn you around because he knows that the power of God is real. The question is, do you know that it’s real? Do you have what it takes to resist the devil? You see, the devil is very tricky and very cunning, and he’s been around for a long, long time. So, you can’t go up against someone with that much experience on your own. You need help from God, who has the power to destroy the devil. God gives us this help through the Holy Ghost. If you don’t have the Holy Ghost you don’t have power. Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” You cannot face the devil on your own, you cannot stand up against temptation on your own. This is the reason why you need to be saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost. When you are saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, you have the presence of God in your life and it surrounds you and teaches you how to discern the attacks of the enemy and gives you the power to give the devil a spiritual blow in the jaw!
This is warfare and we must be strong.
Take a look at the armor we are given, and ask God to help you apply each piece to your spiritual life.
- Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14) – Satan fights with lies, and sometimes those lies sound like the truth; but only believers have God’s truth, which can defeat Satan’s lies. Whenever the devil comes to you with lies, fight him with the truth found in the Word of God.
- Breastplate of Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14) – Satan often attacks our heart – the seat of our emotions, self-worth, and trust. He tries to make us feel like we aren’t worthy, but if we are righteous (acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin ) then we have God’s approval. We know this because God sent His Son to die for us. Ask God to make you righteous so that you are no longer affected by the attacks of the devil.
- Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15) – You must be ready at all times to spread the Good news. Satan wants us to think that it’s a hopeless task and that the negative responses are too much to handle, but we must remember, we are called to be witnesses. Our job is to spread the word, if they don’t accept it, we are not held accountable for that. Ask God to give you Holy boldness to go out and spread the good news.
- Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16) – When satan attacks us in the form of setbacks, insults and disappointments, the shield of faith protects us from those fiery arrows. When we have faith in God, we can see beyond our circumstances and know that victory is ours.
- Helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17) – Satan tries his best to make us doubt God, but this helmet protects our mind from doubting God’s saving work for us.
- Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) – This is the only weapon of offense in our armor. There are going to be times when you’re going to have to fight satan with the Word of God. When you are tempted, get in the word and trust what it says. When you’re discouraged, get in the Word and trust what it says. There is something in the Word of God for every situation that we will face. Find a scripture that speaks to your situation and stand on it, and when the devil tries to come at you with something – hit him with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
