Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. …Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ~Ephesians 6:10, 13
Having done all, to stand firm.
Life is messy. Once upon a time I thought that if I could just spend every day in a Sunday worship service, then I could tune out the messy. But that’s just not possible. God put six days between Sundays and told us to work on those days. Even if I try to confine myself to a “Christian bubble,” all it takes is opening up social media or reading the news to see the mess again.
Life isn’t what God meant for it to be.
What happened? A serpent spoke doubt in the garden. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual fores of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Our battle is not against people, though they are who we tend to argue against.
Our battle is not against our kids, though they certainly know how to press our buttons at times.
Our battle is not against our spouses, though they may be the ones who left socks all over the house.
Our battle is against the devil and his army.
We’re in a battle. Every Christian is in a battle. A wise man once said that the devil may not be able to take away your salvation, but he will do everything in his power to render you unable to influence others to join God’s kingdom.
So what kind of armor do we take to this battle?
The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness
Shoes ready to give the gospel of peace
The shield of faith
The helmet of salvation
The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
(Ephesians 6:14-17)
We’re told to pray, to keep alert, and to boldly proclaim the gospel of Christ.
And when we’ve done all that, just stand.