by Wesley Blackburn
I remember when I was a kid, our Sunday School class had to memorize all the parts of the armor of God. I wish I could say that I did so really willingly and that it was a truly transforming thing for my life. Unfortunately, though, that was not the case. I was more excited about the Pop Tart I would get from my teacher after reciting them properly.
But years later, I think I've been able to shed that childlike idea about the armor of God. Now as I think about it, if we could master all of the stuff that Paul talks about being part of the armor of God, we'd be in good shape. Truth, righteousness, peace, and all of the other things Paul talks about in this passage are things that could truly transform our lives if we'd truly grasp them and live them out.
But I think the thing we need to latch onto in this passage is actually before Paul even lists out the armor of God. It comes in Ephesians 6:12, where Paul writes "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."
I'm really not a fan of the people who pawn all of their life's difficulties off onto Satan. But I think I often go to the other extreme. I live so much in this world that I oftentimes forget that there's a whole spiritual world that I can't see. And that world has a real effect on my world. Sometimes the best tactic of the enemy is to lure us into forgetting that he really exists, and that I believe he really is oftentimes trying to work against us. He can put real obstacles in our way.
But the good news? We have a God who has overcome the enemy! We don't have to worry. And we can know that we will overcome as well, if we will only put on the armor of God.
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