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Suit Up!

I don't know if you've ever lived on a farm before or even with any kind of animal but surprises are to be expected. We have our cows enclosed in an electric fence; they get moved around every couple days for fresh grazing and we love the system. Either our cows are genius or stupidly hit the jack pot but last weekend, they rolled the hay bale over the electric fence and walked right off our property, down the road, and found greener grass on the other side of the fence (literally). We got a phone call that the cows were out so we put on some jeans, a work shirt, boots and picked up a bucket of feed to retrieve the cows. With help, we found them and Jarrod walked them 2 miles home with a bucket of food while I trailed behind in the truck to make sure they didn't escape. They are now safe at home with the hay bale far away from the electric fence. Suiting up is part of going into any battle. Soldiers, athletes, academic competitors, farmers, etc suit up to prepare for their task. Christians suit up too. We look unprotected but with the armor of God, we are heavily protected and ready for battle.

Our battle is a little more subtle than that of a soldier going into combat but the premise is the same. There's a bad guy, a good guy, a strategy and weapons to fight. A Christian might battle against things like subtle manipulation, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, slander, deceit, or rebellion. To fight this battle, we cannot defend from evil with the same weapons they wield; our only chance to win is with weapons of greater caliber which are:

  • a belt of truth
  • a breastplate of righteousness
  • feet with the gospel of peace
  • the shield of faith
  • a helmet of salvation
  • and a sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
These weapons of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God are strong enough to defend any evil that attempt to enter your mind, soul, and heart. (Your weapons become more powerful as your relationship with God strengthens.) The ammunition of these weapons is love, courage, tenacity, worship, optimism, hope, faith and joy. Go to God and get equipped with the correct weapons. Ask him to rid you of the wrong weapons, the weaker weapons, and to replace them with something stronger and more resilient. The armor of God will have a bigger impact with less damage and no mess to clean up. Now go get your weapons and get ready to fight!
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