An invisible world exists.
- I could be referring to the creatures that live on your skin.
- Or the mites in your sheets.
- Or the waves of light and sound that swarm invisibly through your body each moment.
But I’m talking about the spiritual world. Good and Evil. Angels and Demons. The Word of God is our microscope, giving us a glimpse into a world that is beyond our human ability to understand. God doesn’t mess around. He tells us clearly that there is a war, and if we follow Jesus, we aren’t battling flesh and blood. We’re in a fierce battle with real, spiritual forces.
Am I ready for battle?
Or did I wake up, fall out of bed, and make the coffee as though there was a cease-fire?
I used to think that Christians were sort of immune to the wiles of the Devil, but I know that isn’t true. If it were, why would we need the armor of Ephesians? Why did Jesus teach us to pray that we’d be delivered from evil? And if Satan and his army were harmless to us, what does it mean that he can get a foothold in our lives if we let bitterness settle in?
The war is real, but I think most of us are happily ignorant to the fact that we can’t just skate through the Christian life without taking up a shield to defend ourselves.
The Spirit of God inside of us is greater than anything Satan and His minions can send our way, but we need to prepare.
We need to know what we believe, wearing our helmet of Salvation through Jesus Christ. When Satan throws poisoned arrows of condemnation our way, reminding us of our past regrets and mistakes, we wear our breastplate of righteousness – the righteousness of Jesus. We have our shield of faith that protects us when doubt and despair sneak up from behind. We flash our Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, as temptation grabs our ankles, just as Jesus did in the wilderness. We keep it all together with the belt of Truth, securing us from Satan’s lies. And we march boldly into battle, wearing our shoes of Peace, spreading God’s gospel of grace.
Heaven help me to remember that I’m following Christ, and He’s called me to be in His army.
