Okay, here goes.
“Finally, be strong in Elohim and in His mighty power.”
Verse 10
A position we take: strong. There is strength to doing this.
“Put on the full armor of The Most High, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Verse 11
“Put on.”
“Dress.”
Like getting dressed, in any ordinary situation, we need to, intentionally, “put on clothes.”
They don’t put themselves on, by themselves. We choose what we wear.
Why do we wear clothes?
Well, for one thing, it keeps us from getting arrested for “indecent exposure.”
On a larger scale, there is protection from “what’s out there,” stuff we are vulnerable to experiencing if we are “naked,” literally or figuratively.
So, why, “the Armor of God?”
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
“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 The Most High, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Verses 12-13
Okay, we get it. We need to “be dressed for life,” and “the battle” that comes WITH that life.
So, what IS that “Outfit?”
The Belt…
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…”
Verse 14
Belt. Belt Buckle. Core. Center. Grounded. Truth.
“Tell the Truth.”
Groundbreaking. Who knew, right?
That’s the starting point. The foundation. Standing secure, “belted in.”
Spiritual seatbelt?
Yep, we start there.
The Breastplate…
“… with the breastplate of righteousness in place...”
Verse 14
Literal armor. Kevlar, a spiritual bulletproof vest, protecting our most vulnerable body part, our hearts.
Righteousness NEEDS to protect the heart.
The Shoes on Our Feet…
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.”
Verse 15
Please feel free to take some personal experience wisdom from me on the “shoe-sie” front.
As a kid, on the farm, I went barefoot a lot.
Nature can be wonderful… until it isn’t.
One spring day, barefoot, I unknowingly stepped on a bee.
And then, REALLY quickly,I “knew.”
Pain!
Uh-huh, wear some shoes already.
But not just any shoes.
Footwear of readiness. Being ready to go, protected from things that can sting us. Shoes are a barrier of “stepping in it,” however you want to define that “it.”
Scripture, again, relevant and powerful (Isaiah 55:11), has peace attached TO it…
“…the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.”
What else? Because there’s more…
The Shield…
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Verse 16
Shield of Faith. Unseen confidence.
Again, life will be “life-ing.”
Arrows come. Warfare comes.
We need the boundary enforced that states, “this will not penetrate my being.”
We need a shield standing in between harmful arguments, meaning us destruction, and our lives being hit.
But we are still not done.
The Helmet…
“Take the helmet of Salvation…”
Verse 17
Our minds.
Yeah, we don’t want that up for grabs.
Just like, in winter, when we were kids, hearing our mothers say, “Put a hat on.”
We need to cover our noggins. Protect our thinking. There are many wacky, wrong, and again, destructive things that we can have come against us.
And finally, completing our “outfit…”
The Sword…
“… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of The Most High.”
Verse 17
The Word of YAHWEH.
Elohim.
The Most High. Our Heavenly Father.
The Creator of EVERYTHING!
Yeah,Him!
It might be helpful to learn, know, say, employ, and apply what He says.
Again,Isaiah 55:11…
“so is My Word that goes out from My Mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
