The Full Armor of God

Waking up to bad news from work is never a good thing, is it?  Well, that's what happened to me this morning.  I don't know about you, but, when I get bad news that personally affect me or my loved ones, my immediate reaction is to panic.  I know...the fruit of self-control has not yet fully blossomed in my soul...the Holy Spirit is still hard at work growing that one in me.  But this morning, something different happened.  For the first time ever, I did not panic. 

I'm still amazed!

I read the message, and after chewing on it a bit, I declared in my mind:  Lord, I trust You!  I trust You know what You're doing.  And I did not panic!  I had a flood of thoughts rushing through my mind, but I was able to continue to repeat in my heart that I was going to trust God and be still...and let Him be God on this one...I just repeated that over and over in my head until I sensed the wave of frantic thoughts begin to subside. 

Later, I reached for my copy of Sarah Young's devotional and read:

"When you approach Me in stillness and in trust, you are strengthened.  You need a buffer zone of silence around you in order to focus on things that are unseen.  Since I am invisible, you must not let your senses dominate your thinking.  The curse of this age is overstimulation of the senses, which blocks out awareness of the unseen world."

How fitting!

I knew, as soon as I read the bad news, that my only recourse was to be still and let Him be God, like Psalm 46:10 instructs us.  The paragraph from the devotional confirmed it, as it reminded me also of the realm of the unseen, the Spiritual world where most battles are fought.  Silence brought forth clarity to see with the eyes of my soul that my struggles are 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. Ephesians 6: 12

The truth in that revelation that comes to us through Paul is evident to me in my current situation.  Yes, the forces of evil are acting against me, and what is happening at work is just the visible manifestation of what's going on in the invisible world.  My only defense is to allow God to be God and fight for me.  But, at the same time, I also have a job to do:  I must 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.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6: 13-18

As I go through this particular struggle at work, I would like to meditate on these verses in order to invoke the Holy Spirit to guide me and explain to me exactly how to put on the full armour of God.  I hope you join me on this exploration of this marvelous passage so together we can be ready.  Join me in the dressing room...I need all the help I could get.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!