Battle Ready
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is 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. Therefore 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.
Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV
Over our lifetimes, we have made thousands of agreements, knowingly and unknowingly. We make agreements with the devil or with God by the words that we speak. We can speak life and death with our words.
We must think about our open doors, words, and agreements. We are not just fighting flesh and blood. We are fighting principalities; there are rulers and spirits in the air, speaking words to us that do not match the Word of God. We must break this by the Spirit of Jesus, to take back territory the enemy has tried to steal from us. We do not have to accept defeat. God has given us authority over every evil attack the enemy throws at us. We can take authority through God’s covenant with us. We have been given a contract, a covenant, the Bible, full of good promises for our lives.
It’s essential to be in alignment and agreement with God’s word. We do this by putting on the whole armor of God.
Our armor starts at the center with the belt of truth. If our truth is compromised, our whole armor is compromised. We must know what the Bible says to get God’s truth inside us.
With our center in truth, we can wear the whole armor of God:
The breastplate of righteousness that protects our heart. When we face accusation, we combat this with the righteousness of Christ.
The shoes, the Gospel of Peace, help us stand through trouble.
The shield of faith, resisting the devil’s schemes by declaring the word of God.
The Helmet of Salvation, confidence in the knowledge that God has saved us.
The Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
To live in agreement and alignment with God’s word, we must wear our armor every day. Are we agreeing with God or agreeing with the enemy? Do we know what’s in our contract? To agree with God, we know his Word, contract to us, and promises. This is a battle. We have got to be dressed for the fight.
