ARMED!

Relax! It’s only a paint-ball gun!

Your favorite homiletician (hopefully!) hasn’t suddenly developed homicidal tendencies. That picture was a condescension on my part to the indefatigable exertions on the part of my nephews to give their uncle a “cool” look, which, apparently, in their collective (but erroneous, of course!) consideration, I lacked.

Haven’t I always been cool?

(You don’t have to answer that. And I don’t want any wisecrack comments either! They will forthwith be deleted by the Master of the Web!)

I was reminded of the mug shot of menacing-looking me, as I pondered about warfare, not the physical kind, but the other, the spiritual, variety. As I survived a recent stint of non-stop preaching for four weekends in a row in three different pulpits, I was grateful to God for His protection from the wiles of the evil one. Which wiles, I might add, have been known to come my way, especially in times of busy-ness in ministry.

For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the …
rulers of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces
of evil ….
Ephesians 6:12

Scripture seems to indicate that this waging of warfare is with us daily; these battles are baiting us all the time; these skirmishes are always skulking in the background; these hostilities are hot on our heels constantly. If spiritual warfare is a constant accompaniment to the Christian life, then we must be always armed, appropriately armed, adequately armed, … armed and alert.

Put on the full armor of God,
so that you will be able
to stand firm against
the schemes of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11

And that full armor? Spiritual battles against spiritual foes call for spiritual weapons. Here they are …

Loins girded with truth
Breastplate of righteousness
Shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of peace
Shield of faith
Helmet of salvation
Sword of the Spirit, the word of God
Prayer, persevering in it at all times, for all the saints
from Ephesians 6:14–18

I’ve gotten into the habit of consciously running through the list of these paraphernalia each morning in my prayer time, to remind myself how much in need I am of supernatural help to withstand those forces of evil. The battle does belong to the Lord! Without His help, we would succumb to the sallies and sorties of Screwtape that seek to surmount us from all sides, to shock us by surprise, to scare us into submission, and if we are not “sober”, to successfully scorch us. To render us attacked … and fallen!

May that never be, for any one of us, for any believer, for any Christian. For God, Himself, who indwells us by the Holy Spirit, is our Protector, our Shield, our Guardian, our Comforter.

You are from God,
little children,
and have overcome [the evil ones];
because greater is He
who is in you
than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

Therefore we can go forth into the world, the war is as good as won, Satan is already subjugated, victory is guaranteed. The final triumph, of course, we all await, but not with bated breath. For there is no uncertainty about how it’s all going to end. No suspense. No surprise. We know the result. We have won! Already … but not yet.

Let’s hang in there! Armed and ready! For soon …

… the God of all grace,
who called you
to His eternal glory in Christ,
will Himself perfect, confirm,
strengthen and establish you.
To Him be dominion
forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:8