Putting On All Your Armor
I was in the shower when my four year old Mitch politely knocked on the bathroom door. “Who is it?” I called. “It’s me, Mitch!” he answered. I told him to come in and he asked me when I was going to be done, because he had something to show me. I poked my head around the shower curtain to see him standing proudly in his batman pajamas with a belt around his waist made out of Jackson’s baby ring toys.
“I like your belt, Mitch!” I said in an excited voice. “It’s not a belt, it’s a best!” he exclaimed. “A best? Oh a vest!” (You sometimes have to substitute “b’s” for “v’s” in my house in order to keep up in conversations.)
I watched him stare at himself in the mirror for a moment, checking out his new superhero look. “Well,” he finally said, “maybe it is a belt.” And with that he happily ran out of the bathroom to show everyone else his new belt.
I chuckled to myself as I dried off and got ready for the day. He is such a cutie! But then the truth of what just happened started to sink in. Here he was with this new piece of armor for his imaginary game of superhero, and he was so confident in that belt that he believed that it protected him more than it did. In his mind, he felt protected, but the vest he thought he had on turned out to only be a belt.
Ephesians 6:11 ran through my mind, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” I began to think about Christians getting so excited about a new piece of spiritual armor to wear that they “feel” as if they are invincible. They run out into the daily battles with only the helmet of salvation on, and come back wounded and confused. “What happened?” they wonder, “Why didn’t I win that battle? I’m saved, aren’t I?”
Sometimes I find myself so confident in my belt of truth that I forget to put on the breastplate of righteousness, or I leave my shield of faith behind. “I’ve been in this kind of battle before,” I think to myself. And I come back from the battle wounded and confused because I tried to do things in my power and in my authority.
Are you putting on the full armor of God on a daily basis? Are you intentionally reassuring yourself of your salvation, checking for any attitudes or actions that would chink your breastplate of righteousness, are you stepping out into unknown territory with your shield of faith or continually fighting familiar battles in your own strength? Are you reading God’s word on a regular basis so that you know the truth, and are you intentionally putting it into practice so your feet will be ready to move in the right direction when temptations come your way?
I have found myself pretty beat up lately, and looking back I have no one to blame but myself. You see, I left some of my armor at home when I went out to face life’s battles. The good news is that I can immediately put it back on. God isn’t up there laughing at me or scolding me; he stands there ready to help me fasten my armor back on, and checking to make sure there are no weak places.
If you find yourself wounded and weary, check your equipment. It may be that you left a piece of it behind!
Johnny Walker is a Christian Counselor and the founder of Family Works Counseling. You can reach him at (770) 456-5547
“I like your belt, Mitch!” I said in an excited voice. “It’s not a belt, it’s a best!” he exclaimed. “A best? Oh a vest!” (You sometimes have to substitute “b’s” for “v’s” in my house in order to keep up in conversations.)
I watched him stare at himself in the mirror for a moment, checking out his new superhero look. “Well,” he finally said, “maybe it is a belt.” And with that he happily ran out of the bathroom to show everyone else his new belt.
I chuckled to myself as I dried off and got ready for the day. He is such a cutie! But then the truth of what just happened started to sink in. Here he was with this new piece of armor for his imaginary game of superhero, and he was so confident in that belt that he believed that it protected him more than it did. In his mind, he felt protected, but the vest he thought he had on turned out to only be a belt.
Ephesians 6:11 ran through my mind, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” I began to think about Christians getting so excited about a new piece of spiritual armor to wear that they “feel” as if they are invincible. They run out into the daily battles with only the helmet of salvation on, and come back wounded and confused. “What happened?” they wonder, “Why didn’t I win that battle? I’m saved, aren’t I?”
Sometimes I find myself so confident in my belt of truth that I forget to put on the breastplate of righteousness, or I leave my shield of faith behind. “I’ve been in this kind of battle before,” I think to myself. And I come back from the battle wounded and confused because I tried to do things in my power and in my authority.
Are you putting on the full armor of God on a daily basis? Are you intentionally reassuring yourself of your salvation, checking for any attitudes or actions that would chink your breastplate of righteousness, are you stepping out into unknown territory with your shield of faith or continually fighting familiar battles in your own strength? Are you reading God’s word on a regular basis so that you know the truth, and are you intentionally putting it into practice so your feet will be ready to move in the right direction when temptations come your way?
I have found myself pretty beat up lately, and looking back I have no one to blame but myself. You see, I left some of my armor at home when I went out to face life’s battles. The good news is that I can immediately put it back on. God isn’t up there laughing at me or scolding me; he stands there ready to help me fasten my armor back on, and checking to make sure there are no weak places.
If you find yourself wounded and weary, check your equipment. It may be that you left a piece of it behind!
Johnny Walker is a Christian Counselor and the founder of Family Works Counseling. You can reach him at (770) 456-5547
posted by Johnny Walker at 10:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home