January 2
Never will you see or hear of a soldier going to war without His weapons or his war gear. Before a soldier goes out to war, he or she is in uniform from head to toe. They have every weapon put in place whether it be a gun, knife, tear gas, etc. If a soldier does not have his weapons or a command from his sergeant he stays put while still on the lookout. This is the same for us as Christians; every day is a day on the battlefield, a day for us to labor as soldiers of Christ Jesus.
In the same way that a soldier of this world will not go to war without weapons and without gear so we also cannot go to war without these things. There is a battle we fight daily, whether physical or spiritual and these battles cannot be won outside of God. This is the reason why we have been entreated to put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
We need to have our breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, shield of faith, to be able to stand our grounds. Along with this, we need to converse with God before we even start our day, so that we know what He wants us to do. Whether we like it or not the enemy will always wage war on us. We just have to be ready when that war is being waged. We need to condition our minds so that we make a conscious effort to clothe ourselves with the armor of God the very moment we step out of our beds, because if we go even a day without our armor we will return defeated, and that defeat will not always manifest itself physically. Be Armored and Be Ready.
Ephesians 6:10-17
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.
