Never Take Your Armor Off

Two mornings ago, I walked down into my basement and found one of our cats we had rescued 13 years ago had passed away, just laying on the floor where she liked to sleep.

After waking my wife and comforting each other, I got Cash ready to go to the vet.  Janet asked me how I could keep going, with every thing that had happened this year.  I quickly stated “I never take off my armor”.  I realized that it was true, that I am always prepared for the next battle; the next attack to steal my joy or physical pain to take my focus off what is most important.

Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the Armor of God and stand against evils, when they come. Nowhere in the bible does it tell us to drop our weapons, to give up the fight.  We are to be warriors of the Trinity.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

2019 has been a tough year for a lot of people I know, including the E6 team.  We have experienced the death of family members, cancer and other health concerns – and a brutal onslaught of pain and trials to the heart.  The volume of requests and need for prayer by people this year has surpassed anything we have seen since the team has been together.

So, I hope that you leave your armor on, especially if everything is going well.  The attacks can come at any time and you need to be ready to stand against evil.  God will tell us when to take our armor off.

I just read a short story where a son asked his father “Just how big are airplanes?”  The father pointed into the sky and said “There is one now.”  The boy said “They sure are small.”

The father then took his son to the airport so the boy could see a plane up close. “Dad, these planes are huge!”

The father then told his son, “It is much like we see God; if we have a close relationship with God, He is bigger than we can imagine.”

I pray that 2020 is a year with more peace and restoration for all of you.  I hope that you are able to make time to be with family and friends, to unplug from the things that steal your time and most importantly, focus on your relationship with Christ.

I hope each of you have a Blessed Christmas and New Year.