Daily Devotionals

Putting on the Full Armor of God

Posted in Fear/Anxiety

Scripture:  “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. 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 6:10,11,14-17

A few weeks ago, I realized that life’s stresses were getting the better of me. I was carrying these struggles around each day like a weary traveler weighed down by excessive baggage. At night, I would figuratively drop the heavy load and fall into bed eager for rest and a break from the burdens of life. Each morning I would, again, mentally pick up each heavy bag. I threw the cumbersome backpacks of worry over each shoulder. I tucked the hefty cases of anxiety under each arm and stooped to pick up the large bags of sadness and fear. Fully weighed down with these burdens, I would begin my day. As you can imagine, this was a miserable way to live. It was exhausting and not at all what God wanted for me.  Having my focus on my fears and anxieties was pulling my attention away from God and his plans.  I’m sure that Satan was rejoicing every time I picked up those bags of doubt, fear, and pain. 

As I was preparing for bed one night, God reminded me of a lesson that I learned as a child in Sunday School. It was about the passages in Ephesians 6 that urge us to outfit ourselves with the full armor of God. In the same way that a soldier outfits himself with armor and weapons for warfare, these verses teach us how to arm ourselves with God’s armor when waging spiritual battles.

 

I realized that I was letting the sin of worry, fear, and doubt win the spiritual battle. This baggage was blocking me from the Lord’s love and his plans for me. The struggles in life are still a reality. However, now when I wake each morning, instead of picking up those heavy, cumbersome bags of pain, I put on the full armor of God. It truly helps me stand firm against the things that threaten to separate me from God. 

 

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the tools that empower us to win the battles against our sins of doubt, fear and worry. Thank you for the peace and comfort that your love and your Word bring us. When we are waging our spiritual battles, help us to remember to fit ourselves with your mighty armor. In your precious name we pray, Amen.

 

Submitted by Hannah Stiles