There was a time and place when, if you were born a Hatfield or a McCoy, you were born into a battle. Conflict was inevitable. It wasn’t a matter of what you chose, but of who you were. We who are born into Christ join Him in battle, as well. His fight is not against countries, clans, or individuals, but against Satan and his underling spiritual forces of darkness. This “evil one” hates God and will use any means possible to deceive, tempt, accuse, and destroy God’s people forever. We know this by experience, don’t we?
With eternal consequences at stake, spiritual warfare demands spiritual strength. The problem is, on our own, we have none. “The spirit is willing,” Jesus warned, “but the flesh is weak.”1 Knowing this, the apostle Paul provided basic instructions for spiritual conflict, a regimen every bit as effective for us today as when he wrote them in his letter to the Ephesian church:
We guard our minds with salvation as though it were a helmet,
And who is our salvation but Christ?2
We fortify our hearts with righteousness as though it were a breastplate,
And who is our righteousness but Christ?3
We secure ourselves in truth as though it were a belt,
And who is truth itself but Christ?4
We equip our feet with the good news of peace,
And who is our peace but Christ?5
We trust the Word of God as though it were a sword, piercing to the truth of a matter,
And who is the Word of God but Christ?6
We stand behind faith as though it were a shield against all fear,
And in whom do we place our faith but Christ?
The armor we put on for strength is Christ! Nothing can overcome Him, for He is above “all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given.” No wonder our enemy flees when we resist him! He looks at us and sees the all-powerful One who covers us from head to toe.
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
Lord Jesus be all of these things in me, and strengthen me to stand against all the forces of evil today. Amen.
1 Matthew 26:41 (NASB
2 Acts 4:12
3 1 Corinthians 1:30
4 John 14:6
5 Ephesians 2:14
6 John 1:14
Click here to read today’s Scripture in Ephesians 6:10-20.
Today’s post is an excerpt from Christ in Me. Copyright © 2016 Paul Nordman. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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