Preparing for Battle...

Preparing for Battle...

Danielle Joyner Kelley

March 22, 2009

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:11

"No temptation has seized us except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what we can bare. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Have you ever thought that as soon as you started to have a closer relationship with God that things got worse? When you realized that did you think something close to, "I thought God would make things better and here I am with everything the same."? If so, join the club.

That is a question that I have battled with for nearly my entire life. Luckily, God's word gave me the answer and I cannot believe I didn't see it sooner.

God never promises us that He will make things easy. Quite the contrary as seen in the Gospels, Jesus tells us that, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33.

Simply put, and whether you realize it or not, you as a believer in Christ are at war. You may think, "then who, what, when, and where am I fighting?". Understanding the answer to that one can be the difference between eternal life or death.

One of the most well known stories in the Bible is the story of Job. Job suffered unspeakable tragedy. In the beginning of this story, God said to Satan (the Devil), "Where have you come from?". Satan's answer? "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." Job 1:6-7. When I read this I thought to myself, "So Satan is roaming the earth?". YOU can bet he is, and don't ever forget it.

The one thing that truly eats him alive is knowing you are coming to God. When you accept Christ, you put a target on your own back. Doesn't sound fun does it? Why show a red towel to a bull right? The answer is simple though - if you don't show that red towel to the bull, the bull will kill you.

So you have to put that target on you to avoid going to hell. As opposed to a true bull situation where showing the towel may actually get you killed cause he will charge you, this is the opposite. If you don't wave that towel, you are in big trouble - a LOT bigger than you can imagine.

God knows all about hell. He knows how bad it is, how much suffering is there, how you beg to die but you never do, and here is the most important part - He knows it NEVER EVER EVER ends. He loves you so much that He allows that target to be placed upon you to ultimately save your own life.

Satan uses temptation to fool you. He wants you obsessed with worldly things rather than things that actually matter - things that will actually follow you to your next life. Nothing of this world will. You can put a U-Haul on the back of your hearse if you want to, but know this - there are NO pockets on coffins.

So how do you win? The first scripture listed above tells you. Put on the Armor of God. In Ephesians we are also told, "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:15-17.

We have to put on that armor to avoid the Devil's schemes. Does this mean that you will not sin? No. Does this mean you cannot cuss? Cannot drink? Can't have any fun? Not for me to say - but I do know that some situations for example, such as drunkenness (not merely drinking but being drunk) put you in the Devil's line of fire. It is easier to get to you that way and God is trying to protect you from that. That is why he lets us feel the consequences of our sin. When you wake up the next morning after getting drunk the night before, some of us worry about what we said to who, if we looked stupid, etc. That is the consequence of your sin - God is trying to tell you that. He wants you to put His armor on! As stated above, you are to work to "understand what the Lord's will is." Stop focusing on your own will - that will is of this earth - focus on His "will" - his purpose for your life because the goal is to live with Him. I love good beer too, but I know from my own past and bearing the consequence of my sin not to try and get drunk. I know that I can have fun without being a tool for Satan to use.

Does that mean I won't sin? Absolutely not. I will sin, but I have had to learn to come to Him and bear my consequences. I would rather bear the consequence of my sin here on earth proudly than to bear it in His presence after I die - that much I am sure of!

In Ephesians we are also told that after we put the armor on we are to, "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." Ephesians 6:14-15. Don't make it easier for Satan to win ANY battles in your life - be smarter than that. Look for what he is up to and be ready for it! If you can't figure out what he is trying to do, ask God. Part of faith is accepting that He has the answers.

The second scripture tells us, "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what we can bare. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13. Guess what? God gives you a WAY OUT. Learn to recognize it - use it!! You may not like it, but that is when you lean on Him to help you, give what you want up, and know he loves you and is trying to better you.

God tells us that he examines our motives and our hearts. If you give $2 million to charity to look good while running for office, what is your real motive? Should He reward you for that? No, He tells us if our goal when doing something good is to look good to man, then we already have our reward. If that is your motive then that is what you gain (looking good) but that is ALL you will gain.

When you go fishing you don't wear a suit and tie. When you go to church you don't wear a bathing suit (at least not that I have seen anyway). You take so much time to make sure you are dressed appropriate for the occasion. So why go into battle without armor in place? Why allow Satan the chance to defeat you?

Quit worrying about being "politically correct". Worry about being "life correct". This life is only a very small fraction of what will be your entire existence and this much I know for sure - this life will end.

When you first come to God, things may not get easier at all for you. But He gives you comfort - He gives you forgiveness - He gives you peace and security - He gives you HIM. I personally would rather have Him, knowing my life on earth is so brief, than I would rather live with no struggles and no God.

But be wise and know that Satan is watching and he is not happy with your decision to become a Christ follower. Also know that people, yes just people, will secretly want you to fail. No one wants to be reminded of the work they need to do in their own lives. Coming to God and showing your faith publicly will put a mirror in their own face - and they may not like what they see. Pray for them and then go back to focusing on the sins you will have to answer for - YOUR OWN.

Satan will use people (even those who are not bad at all) against you. As a wise relative once told me, Satan can appear as a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Sometimes the more delectable choice is really the one that is the worst. Do not allow other people to cause you to sin. Put your foot down. If they don't like it then at least you will know what is true inside of you - you are here to serve God and NO one else. That is unless you are willing to argue the person on earth you are so concerned about is going to some how save you from hell. God loves those people too so trust He will work on them and let it go!

People will see you struggling and say to you "This isn't working is it?". When that happens now I have my armor on and in that armor is my faith. I know that I am in better hands upset than in no hands and happy. I always say back, "Just wait. Watch what my God can do." God is training you for battle - let him. It truly benefits you in the end.

So how should you live with the armor? Do you have to give up everything you love? No. There is a thing called forgiveness, however, the Bible is not a "free for all" either. You don't get to keep intentionally doing things that put yourself in Satan's way and expect God to keep you from getting hit. That is not how it goes.

But God will give you an out. When things get bad and you feel the world is against you, look for new people to walk into your life in His name. You will feel the pull between the past and the future. That is because what is being fought over is your own soul. There is the "what" of battle. The "where"? Your body here on earth. The "who"? YOU. The "when"? RIGHT NOW so get started today. The "how"? Sin. The "why"? Because the last thing Satan wants is for you to have a relationship with God. Satan knows his future - God tells us - he won't rule over hell, he will be cast into it with everyone else there.

You will see that the more you trust in God and stop trying to fix everything yourself - the more He will work in your life to remove the bad, bring the good, and save your soul from the worst place imaginable. But it may not happen overnight - good things come from struggles. Look back on your own life and see what you learned from each bad event. You may not be stronger from it right now but I am confident you will be.

This isn't a topic that people enjoy. I used to hate to talk about it because I just knew I was going to hell. That is why understanding God's love is so important. Jesus's life was not easy. He loved God - was everything great for Him? No way! But is everything great for Him now? I can only imagine how great! Remember first and foremost three things: 1) God LOVES you; 2) God FORGIVES you; and 3) God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell.

So put your armor on - trust in Him and grow your faith. Stop defeating your own self. He loves you more than you love yourself - trust me. Know you are a sinner, accept it, and learn to be better. You will never be perfect - there was only one perfect human and He died on a cross to save you. God knows you are not perfect. Forgive yourself. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and not tear you down. Show your faith to others. Let God make you a shining example of what He can do.

And know this, the creator of the universe who paints skies so beautiful that we become totally amazed, thinks that one saved soul is more important than everything beautiful we will ever see here on earth. When we look at that sunrise or sunset and think, "how could anything be more beautiful?" is exactly what He thinks when he looks down and sees you with His armor on. Now that is amazing!!