READY:
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:11
SET:
What would happen if a catcher on the softball team went on the field without her catcher’s gear? No helmet, no chest guard, no shin guards, no glove: just her. As she squatted down to catch the mid 50 mph ball, we can only imagine the disaster that would happen because she wasn’t fully equipped to play the game.
I had a teammate who was dealing with crippling anxiety; she tried everything and couldn’t find any relief. I asked her one day if she ever read Scripture for herself. She grew up in the youth group and attended church faithfully as a child, but as she got older, she never really took ownership of her faith. It was always just her parent’s faith. As her anxiety began to get to a point where she couldn’t function, I asked her what her relationship was with Scripture. Did she read it for herself? Did she have an abiding habit of living in the truth of God? Or was it more of a book that she just brought to church to hear the preacher read out of? She told me she only used it at church.
Ephesians 6:11-18 lists the full armor of God, and verse 11 tells us that we are to put on the full armor and when we do that, we can stand against the schemes of the devil. If we want to be fully equipped for the game, we must use the equipment God has graciously given us. In verse 17, Paul speaks of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is the verse I shared with my friend. I told her that she was involved in a daily battle as a Christian and if she wasn’t using the sword that God had given her to fight with or doesn’t learn how to use it, the enemy would just continue to knock her down. We must take up the sword, the weapon God has given us to fight our battles with. He has given each of us all the equipment we need to take the field with; it is up to us to put it on each day.
We wouldn’t dream of taking the field without the proper equipment, but with life, we often forget to equip ourselves. God gives us instructions in His Word for basically any situation we might find ourselves in and yet we ignore Him. If we’ll abide by the rules of a sport, then what is keeping us from abiding by life instructions from a God who loves us?
GO:
Is your relationship with Scripture an abiding habit or a once-a-week book?
How is the daily battle going for you? Are you fully equipped? If not, will you take the time to suit up?
WORKOUT:
OVERTIME:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for providing us with Your armor as we live out the daily battle against our three opposers: the world, our flesh and the enemy. If there be any piece of your armor that I don’t want to take the time to put on, please open my eyes to see the danger of not wearing/using it and show me the freedom that comes from being fully equipped. Your authority is so much greater than any other authority. Please draw me to your Word and help me learn how to love it, obey it, and abide in it. In Jesus’ name, amen.”