Put It On

DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
PUT IT ON
Eph 6:11-12
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 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.
NIV
Now here is something I really need, a complete outfit of bright shiny armor. The one difference in my mind’s eye is I am not sitting upon a great steed with a jousting pole in my hand riding against a similar looking fellow. No, here I must stand, I must take my stand. I must not retreat, I must not be moved, and I must not be overtaken or distracted. I must stand firm in place not against a similar foe, but against the schemes of the devil. I must take my stand not even against something or someone I can see, but against schemes. These schemes are deep and dark things which may not even be able to be seen in the physical but only in the spiritual realms. Schemes against my inner being, schemes to destroy me from the inside out. True, many temptations in the physical may be shoved in front of my eyes. Yes, the things of this world may be used in an attempt to lure my mind into thoughts of self indulgence. But they are only the bait for my inner being. If I ever thought I could defend myself against these schemes without any protective armor provided by God, I certainly would have already succumbed to one of them. The whole idea of my having any strength to battle against this type of foe alone is foolishness. I need to have God’s armor. I need his protective forces at work within my being. I am nothing alone. The schemes of the devil are powerful and mighty forces which are designed to crush my spirit, to destroy my faith, to completely annihilate me from not only the face of the earth but from the kingdom of God. The devil desires nothing better than to kill me both in the physical and in the spiritual and thus I must adorn the protective armor of my God. I have to be completely protected at ever place I am vulnerable, which is everywhere. If I am to survive, if I am to be an effective servant of my Lord, if I am to be the person he desires me to be, If I am ever to stand in front of his throne in the new city of Jerusalem, than I have to put it on.