Paul’s letters give us some great practical instructions on how to live a fruitful Christian life. The following passage is from his letter to the Ephesians, telling us how to hold firm in our walk with God:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints – and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it, I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
(Ephesians 6:10-20, New King James Version [NKJV])
If my task in life was knowing this passage, I think my life would be easy. If I followed this passage, my life would certainly be easier. But my task in life is to follow it, and I know that I don’t follow it nearly as well as I could, and ultimately, it’s me who suffers for not following it properly. If I don’t take the time to get right with God and then end up unreadied for the road ahead on that day, I’m not going to lose my salvation, I’m (hopefully) not going to put anyone else in danger, but I am going to suffer from a lack of preparation for the challenges the evil one is going to send my way over the course of that day.
It is not I who stands strong. I only stand strong because I stand strong in God. If I do not take the time to stand strong in God, I don’t stand strong – I hobble, I crawl, or stutter; easy pickings. It is not a physical battle that I am in – I cannot pick up a stick to fight off my enemy. No, I am in a spiritual battle, one altogether harder to fight alone, and so I need to be strong in God so that he can lead me into paths of righteousness and steer me away from untruth or situations that are going to cause me harm. He is my stronghold, my refuge, but I need to make Him my refuge.
How? By putting on the armour of God. Maybe I should try that in the morning. Instead of thinking about what it all means, intricately dissecting each bit, maybe I should just pray it through. “God, help me to put on the belt of truth, so that I can stand true to You and Your word, so that I can steer clear from untruth and deception.” Maybe I will. Maybe you could try that with me…
