The armour of God

Our family has been going through tough times recently and so a fellow believer  challenged me to read about the armour of God everyday for a week. They felt it would be a source of encouragement and of guarding against what the enemy was trying to destroy in my life, and that of our family. So I thought I would take up the challenge and document my thoughts each day as I read this section of scripture daily for the week. Some days I may spend 5 mins reading, others may be more like half an hour of reading and contemplation, so join me if you will on my adventure of delving into these verses from Ephesians 6;

*The Whole Armour of God*

*10*Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. *11*Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. *12*For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. *13*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 firm. *14*Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, *15*and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. *16*In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; *17*and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, *18*praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, *19*and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, *20*for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Ephesians 6:10–20.

Day 1

The first thing that stood out to me was the word ‘stand’. Sometimes, there is nothing more to do in life other than stand. When it feels like the battles of life are raging around you, you just need to stand. No movement required, God will give you the strength to do just that, stand. This ability to stand does depend on the strength of faith you have built beforehand. When you can do nothing else, you need to rely on what you know to be true about yourself and God when the warring season comes. There are often no indicators that it’s on it’s way, so you always need to be ready. To be building your faith through prayer, fasting, Bible reading, meeting with other believers and praying in the Spirit. 

Day 2

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might’. It is ok if we are not strong in ourselves. Before this section talks about putting on the armour of God, it speaks about God being our strength. We need to have strength in and through God because, this suggests that it is not for us to be strong. It is for us to depend on God being strong for us. 

It is an invitation or a command that we ‘be strong in the Lord’. This requires work on our part to depend on Him - to rely on God to be strong for us. Therefore it is ok to be weak, because then we can rely on his might and strength. 

Day 3

Today as I read these verses I see how important it is to be ready. Before you can stand firm, before you can stand and fight, you have got to be ready. As a soldier, equipped for war, before you get dressed and collect the appropriate equipment, you need to know what you are facing. This passage shows us that we face, everyday, ‘the schemes of the devil’. This is why you need the armour, this is why you need to fight, because you are daily battling, ‘the spiritual forces of evil’. This is why it is important to have the armour of God. That is why you need to pray, fast, read the Bible, declare the truth, belong to church. As this is how you can learn to stand when tough times come, and how you gather and realise the strength and might of the Lord. Are you getting yourself ready for the battles you will come to face in life? You do not need physical training, military schemes, but you do need a relationship with the God of heaven who will strengthen and hold you as you prepare to stand in the storm. Are you getting ready?

Day 4

No matter what you face in life, ’take up the shield of faith’. Faith can protect you and cover you ‘in all circumstances’. Without faith, you’d be unprotected and vulnerable. Therefore it is important to know what you believe. What are the foundational truths that you hold onto? If everything else falls apart in life, what happens to what you believe? Is your faith shaken, shaped or solid when troubled times come? The shield of faith needs to be taken up - are you working on your faith, are you losing it or are you taking it for granted? This sentence tells us to ‘take up the shield of faith’ it is your choice whether you pick it up or not. Are you developing and trusting in the faith you have?

Day 5

Prayer is essential. Is it part of your armoury?

‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints’. The armour of God is not complete without prayer. Praying in the Spirit, worshipping and requesting of God, praying to be prepared and praying for others of faith - all are covered in v18. 

Praying in the Spirit allows your spirit to connect with God’s Spirit - no wonder we need that! When we connect with God we connect with His power, His love, His strength, His mercy… 

We are invited to pray, which is a form of worship and to ‘supplicate’ - we are allowed to ask God for things. Not only asking, but asking as well as covering all the other things prayer is for.

Prayer can help us get ready for what’s coming, even if we don’t know what is, and it can help us persevere.

We are also encouraged to pray for one another. We are in these battles together, this is teamwork, therefore we need to work together in prayer too. 

So, today, I shall pray, being grateful for what I have, asking for what I need and praying for the grace to persevere as well as praying for friends of faith to have the same. We are in this together, and God wants us to talk to Him about what is going on, He wants to share His Spirit with you, it will help. How can you pray today?

Day 6

Paul writes that he is an ambassador in chains for the gospel. I know that he was imprisoned for his faith, tortured and persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the son of God. Many still are today. 

Yet for most of us, do we see the seriousness of this? Do you feel as if you are chained to the gospel? I think that is the point that is made here, not so much that Paul is in prison, but that he is chained to the gospel and that has led to his whereabouts. Do you live your life chained to the gospel? Wherever you go, does the gospel go with you? Are you acutely aware that the gospel is with you whatever you are doing? For Paul, and for others imprisoned and punished for their faith the gospel being chained to them is a reality. Can you live your life recognising that if you believe in Jesus, then you too are permanently connected to the good news of who Jesus is? If so, this will effect the way you walk, talk, work, play and rest. 

God, help us to realise that we are chained to you, and allow it to effect and influence us everyday no matter where we are or what we are doing. Amen

Day 7

Speaking boldly about who Jesus is is a real challenge, Paul found it so otherwise he would not have asked for the Ephesians to pray for him to, ‘boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel’. Therefore do not feel bad if you struggle with feeling nervous, or even terrified about sharing about your faith - you are in good company! Yet, there is something you can do about it. Like Paul you can ask people to pray for you to have courage. If you are someone that finds this easy, then please pray for those of us who find it difficult. 

Courage in adversity

 

I am intrigued by the young lads that we meet in the first few chapters of Daniel. We meet them as teenage captives, and hear snippets of their experiences as they have become embedded in the court of the Babylonian king. First off we meet them as captive trainees, then see them as graduates from the enforced leadership program, and we watch as they develop into young men entering the kings court as his servants - all in the first couple of chapters!

One of the things I am struck by as I read about Daniel and his friends, is their courage. They, as teenage boys have been through so much, but they seem to know what is worth standing up for. Reading through these passages  it is easy to forget that they are captive Jewish boys. Yet we see boldness in them which is produced by the faith they have in God.

We first see this displayed when Daniel asks the chief of the eunuchs (who is responsible for the captive trainees welfare) if he can be excused from eating the king’s food - He, a captive boy, approaches the chief to make a request, don’t you think that’s a bit cheeky, even presumptuous? 

Then, even when the request is denied, Daniel doesn’t give up. Instead,  he rethinks, reprocesses and tries again. This time he has the courage to ask the steward for he and his friends to have a vegetable only diet for 10 days.  That took courage, he must have been disappointed and a bit scared by the chief’s response, but he did not give up. He continued to pursue his request because he so desired to honour God. This overtook the fear and worry he must have felt. I admire him for standing up in the first place, let alone trying a second time. He did not give up. Sometimes we can, can’t we. Sometimes when we have built ourselves up to do something that terrifies us, and then it doesn’t work out, who then thinks, ‘well, I tried it, didn’t work, I’m done’?! Some of us do. Daniel didn’t. He built himself up again, and thoughtfully considered another way to achieve what he needed.

I have had to conquer fear a lot in my life. Growing up I was know as a ‘worry wart’ and i was told ‘you worry about worrying’. Maybe that’s why I admire Daniel, Azariah, Mishael and Hananiah so much, because they do not hide away from the scary stuff, but they confront the problems and trust that something will happen and that God will help them. I could not imagine myself as a young teenager standing up to any authority, especially not any cruel institution like the Babylonians. 

This isn’t the only instance that we see these four young men show courage either. 

When the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, is outraged with some of the ‘wise’ advisers in his kingdom, (the; enchanters, astrologers, astronomers) he directs his captain to slaughter all of them. This includes the Jewish young men; Daniel, Mishael, Azaraih and Hananiah.  The first they know about it, is that the captain comes along to get Daniel to kill him.  

Daniel responds quickly and bravely. He asks the chief of the kings guard  what is going on and why is it so important that the order is completed right away? He doesn’t stop there either - he is even brave enough to ask to go straight into the king and ask for more time!

Don’t you think that’s a bit outrageous?! Daniel is handed a death sentence and asks to see the king first and to ask for an extension of time! Daniel does not just accept the order, he challenges it.  He stands up and speaks out. How brave is that?! When others would have been terrified and confused about what is happening, Daniel is gifted with courage and wisdom in his response. As a result of his courage to ask and put himself forward, he saved the lives of himself and his friends as they trusted in God to solve the problem. 

These examples may seem extreme. Many of us are not captives or threatened with murder, but that does not mean that we cannot learn from the faith of these lads. Surely we can learn a lot. None of us are likely to experience the trials they faced, and yet, how many times have you or I given into fear rather than stand up for what we know is right, even if it could cost us? 

We could pay the cost of losing favour, losing friends, even losing a job. These young men could have lost their lives. But, as Jesus says, ‘Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.’ (Luke 17:33). 

Daniel, Azariah, Mishael and Hananiah did not value their own lives more that following God. They were prepared to lose their lives in order to continue honouring him. Another great example of this is when they were headed to the fiery furnace; 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Azariah, Mishael and Hananiah) replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. *17*If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[] from Your Majesty’s hand. *18*But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-20

These men were more concerned about worshipping their God than anything else, that is evident, even when they had no clue about what was going to happen. They all stood up and stood out when others didn’t. They displayed great courage because they knew their God was greater than their circumstances. They didn’t know what was coming or how these situations would pan out, but they stepped out anyway. 

Are you willing and prepared to step out in faith, boldly standing up for what you know is right in the face of adversity? Is there some area that you can begin trusting God in where you need courage? Ask God to help you, and trust that He will. 

Shaky Servant

 

The faith of Abraham’s servant is quite astounding. He is faithful to Abraham, and totally respects the faith Abraham has, acknowledging something significant about ‘the God of my master Abraham’. 

Although, at the beginning of Genesis chapter 24 the servant seems overwhelmed by the task his master is giving him, the servant has trust enough in Abraham and God to do as Abraham asks. 

The servant even prays a bit of an outrageous prayer (ever done that?!). Then he sits there, I believe, in awe-struck silence, as his prayer is answered straight away right in front of his eyes. 

We can see from the text that he was clearly stunned, he and questioned whether it was really that easy the task he had been sent on. He knew it shouldn’t be. He had started the journey with many questions and concerns. Yet he still stepped out in nervous faith, more carried along by the faith of Abraham and his obedience to him. It was then that his own faith grew. 

As we read more about the unravelling of this story, the servant honestly retells the events to those listening, and they acknowledge, “the thing has come from the Lord”. 

As the servant sees that God indeed is with him, he worships, he recognises that it’s not anything of his own self that deserves this situation to work out as it has. He knows he has been sent by a God-filled man, and he humbly continues with his mission having seen what God has already achieved through his obedience. 

I love this story because I see the humility of this servant whose name isn’t even mentioned.  He doesn’t know if he really believes in this God, as he refers to Him as, ‘the God of my master Abraham’. The servant is obedient even though the task set before him stretches him and demands something unusual. His obedience to the faith-filled Abraham is ultimately what leads him to begin to understand that there really is a God, and that this God is significant. This God makes things happen, even those things that seem ridiculous, this God is present, this God listens, this God fulfils His purposes, this God is awesome and is worthy of worship. 

Yet, the servant would not have grown in faith in this way unless Abraham had challenged him to go on this journey. The servant had seen Abraham make decisions in faith, but had not had to do it on his own before. Abraham sent him, and look at the increase of faith this produced in that man, and the blessing it brought to Abraham’s family. 

Are you willing to be sent on a faith journey? 

Is there someone who’s faith you admire that is setting a challenge for you to move and grow in faith? If so, be obedient, take the risk - what’s the worse that can happen? 

When you step out in faith, it is terrifying, it is different, and people may think you’re a bit crazy, but be ready, like the servant, to pray outrageous prayers and see outrageous answers. It won’t just change your life, but the lives those around you too. The task of Abraham's servant seemed ridiculous really, yet he trusted in the faith of his master, someone who had seen God working in so many ways in his life, the servant took stock of the success and faith of this man, and realised that eventhough he did not share the faith of Abraham, he could trust that Abraham knew what he was asking of him and expecting of God. So, the servant stepped froward with trepidation. He by no means was certain of success, or of what would happen, but he had confidence in Abraham, even if he didn't have the same confidence in God yet. 

Are you willing to go like Abraham’s servant was? It is ok to have questions, it’s ok to not be sure, it’s ok to be nervous and excited. It’s great to pray and trust. So, are you willing to take the first shaky steps into a new future as you trust in the faith of others when they call you to step out?