Imagine a snowball fight where one side had a 25-feet-high wall (exaggerating) with 1,000,000 ready-to-go snowballs (even more exaggerating) because they took the time to prepare and the other side only had an empty pop can and three snowflakes (the other team took all of the snow). Needless to say, the idea of a fair fight took a flying leap off of said 25-feet-high wall. One team emerges victorious and the other team, well, they’re still getting the snow out of their ears. 🙂
Our preparation for this upcoming trip, as well as our daily walk with Christ, is critical to living fully in the life He has called us to and defeating the enemy through the name of Jesus every time the evil one slings his ugly lies at us. What I so love about our Savior is He doesn’t say “prepare” but then leaves us without any instructions. He most certainly has given us a “life manual”, and I don’t mean one where the first step leaves you so confused that you start reading a book in Ewok-ese just to give your brain a rest ( I know, I know. A Star Wars reference. It had to happen sometime. 🙂 ). He has given us His Word. We are warriors in an all-out, lifelong battle, and though the Victory has been secured, Christ still calls us to be completely ready for whatever comes our way.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 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.” Ephesians 6: 10-17
I’m pretty sure all of this armor is going to give the metal detectors at the airport a hard time… 🙂
