Therefore, put on every piece of God’s Armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Ephesians 6:13 NLT
The Christian life is a battle. When you were born again you enlisted in God’s army. Our enemy is not physical, but spiritual and we need to learn how to fight spiritually.
When you go to war, you need to understand the enemy and His tactics. Satan is “the father of lies” John 8v44. He opposes truth at every opportunity.
He is described as masquerading as “an angel of light” 2 Corinthians 11v14. We can be taken in by what appears to be good, but is really just the bait in a trap.
He also knows the Word of God, but will take it out of context and twist it to mean something else, as we see in the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Matthew 4v1-11.
As we progress in our spiritual life, Satan will contest each bit of ground we take and try to force us back. He wants us to fall back into old ways, old habits, old thinking patterns so that we will relinquish the new ground and fall prey to his condemnation. Satan will feed you with lies, tempt you to abandon your faith and then laugh in your face that you “failed” as a Christian.
God’s will for you is to stand your ground, and resist all the attacks of the enemy. He wants you to move forward inch by inch, standing firm on the truth you’ve already understood, and learning more about His Ways through His Word.
We can only stand firm by knowing the Word of God and applying it to our lives. We are not born again with complete knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. In the natural realm babies need to learn everything from scratch and so it is in the Spiritual realm. It doesn’t need to take years to grow Spiritually; it takes obedience in whatever area the Holy Spirit is impressing on you at the time. The Spiritual life is about taking off the old man and putting on the new man. Ephesians 4v22.
If the Holy Spirit is impressing on you that you need to conquer an area in your life, you can be sure that Satan will get you to justify why it’s OK for you to continue in that way.
If your battle is with a hot temper, He will assure you that you are right in what you are saying, and it’s the other person’s fault because they won’t listen.
If your battle is with unforgiveness he will rake up old hurts and wounds so that you feel the intensity of the pain again and feel justified in not forgiving.
If your battle is with anxiety and stress, he will convince you that worrying is a sign that you care deeply about the person or situation you face and that by worrying you’ll come up with an answer.
The list of sins, habits and old ways of coping can go on and on. The Holy Spirit does not present everything to us at one time. But when He does put His finger on something, then we need to act on it until we conquer it, and once conquered continue to hold that ground and refuse to fall back into old ways.
The only way to do that is by hearing and applying God’s Word. The armour of God, as described in Ephesians 6 is all about Truth. God’s Word is both our protection and our weapon. We need to learn to wear it and to use it skilfully.
Over the next few days, I want to examine each piece of armour and how it relates to our Christian life and our walk with God. His Present Presence will teach us how to put it on, keep it on and use it in the battle against the enemy of our soul.
