Day 24

Get up and get dressed

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

“There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”

—C.S. LEWIS

For many years, I went into battle everyday as though I was headed to a picnic—without armour, without weapons, naked and defenseless. And I got the spiritual crap kicked out of me.

I did a lot of forgetting during this time but there was one thing I forgot that mattered more than any of the others. I forgot that God’s Word is to my soul as food is to my body. I forgot that reading and believing His Word is my ONLY defense, my ONLY nourishment, and my ONLY hope as I journey through this battle-worn world. In my depressed numbness, I stopped, almost completely, reading God’s Words to me and then wondered at the despair that crept into my heart.

The battle armour described in today’s verse is the Word of God. It is the sword we fight with (Revelation 1:6) and our shield of protection (Genesis 15:1). The Word of God is the helmet that protects and renews our minds (Romans 12:2), the breastplate that turns our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), and the shoes that give us strength to carry the Good News wherever we go (Isaiah 52:7).

We need to shake off this stupor that has us stumbling into our daily battles defenseless and weaponless. When we spend no time reading or hearing what God’s words are to us, we shouldn’t be surprised when we fall farther and farther away from any sort of full life. He calls to us from the pages of His Word day after day and we so often leave those calls unanswered.

Turn the tide of your battle today. Get up and get dressed in the Word of God.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

—HEBREWS 4:12 (NLT)

...the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

—JOHN 6:63 (NLT)