Monday, in Alabama, the temperature was 55 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. Tuesday, we were out of school due to the possibility of snow. Maybe it is just Alabama weather, but it is an example of how flip floppy our lives can be. Some days life is great and you’re able to walk to your car without shivering from the cold, and others you sprint to your car and groan until the heat kicks in. Well, what happens when it is not just a day… but a whole season?
People who live in Alabama, bear with me …since it is hard to understand the concept of winter not consisting of wearing shorts one day and ten layers the next.
We get times in our life where things are great for a long period of time; thank the Lord for those times!! But what are we supposed to do when we are stuck in a season of dreary, cold, lifeless days??
The answer is simple. To get warm, put on some clothes, and by clothes I mean the armor of God.
In Ephesians, Paul gives us a list of armor that the Lord has equipped us with to fight off the devil. You might be thinking, “I am not in a fight against the devil, I am just dealing with _____” Fill in the blank. Satan uses our lowest of lows to get into our head and fill it with lies. Whether you cannot get out of a financial rut no matter how hard you work, you’re battling a disease that is physical or mental, you have lost people in your life that you thought you would never lose, or maybe you are just sad and tired and you do not have a real reason. Satan uses times like these to get under our skin and produce a parasite. Most of the time ,we are too busy trying to fix our situation ourselves and we become oblivious to how much damage is actually caused by Satan.
We may not be able to fix our circumstances, but we serve a God who can fix our mindset. This is where putting on the armor of God comes in. You see, to have a healthy mindset you have to get rid of the parasite. How do you do that?? You do not kindly ask it to leave. No, you fight, and fighting requires proper gear. You don’t find this gear at a store. You find it in Ephesians, Chapter 6.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
-Ephesians 6:10-18
In my future blogs, I will be examining each piece of armor more in depth. Meanwhile, stand firm, and be comforted in the fact that you’re not alone. God is before, behind, and beside you.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
-Isaiah 41:10
