Maybe you are physically strong. Or even emotionally strong. You may go to the gym 5 times a week and eat a healthy diet or you may not cry when you watch a sad movie. And because of this everyone asks you for support whether it be to open the grape jar or be a shoulder to cry on, but what about your spiritual strength?
Physical and emotional strength is good, but your spiritual strength is one that matters most. This strength comes from God. This is the strength that will sustain you in your weak moments because yes, no matter how much we work out or how tough we try to be, we all have weak moments.
As Paul is writing this letter to the people in Ephesus, he is reminding them that besides the physical attacks such as torture that they face as Christians, they also are truly experiencing spiritual attacks. This letter is still very relevant to us Christians today. We face slander, rude comments, and there are even countries in the world that are locking people in jail or murdering them for believing in Christ. This is the reality. But the evil that drives this behavior is from the spiritual world.
Who is in charge of this spiritual world? It is Satan himself. He lurks around and preys on his next victim. And if you are not spiritually strong then you can fall into the evil acts of this dark world.
However, we have God who has delivered us from this fallen world. And because of this deliverance we are spiritually saved, protected, and ready to fight. Amen!
“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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Verses 14-18)
This is not a fight that we can rely on our own strength. We need the strength from God himself.
The Whole Armor of God includes:
The Belt of Truth(word of God)- this part of the armor is a foundational element. The Biblical understanding of the belt is one that covers the whole waist and goes all the way down to the feet. This belt provides a lot of protection.
Breastplate of Righteousness- This is the plate that goes right in the front and protects your heart and stomach area. Our righteousness does not come by our works nor our efforts. But it is by God graces. What is true is that God already loved us and gave his life to us. Reminding us that God loves us despite who we were.
Shod your feet- Our feet symbolizes our actions and what we do. Our lives should be a life that brings peace and not condemnation and drama. We want our lives to really be an instrument to deliver the Gospel.
Shield of faith- This shield plays the role like the breastplate of righteousness. This shield is an extra layer and it reminds us that God loves us and has already accepted us.
Helmet of Salvation- Symbolizes our position and authority. We have authority as children of God.
Prayer- Praying is part of our armor. It is the highest spiritual activity that we can do because we are talking to God. Prayer is our humble acknowledgment of God. It says that we understand that we need to conversate with God.
So what is your source? Are you relying on your own personal strength? Or are you relying on God’s strength? There is no need to rely on our own strength because the truth is that we are all weak. God’s strength is the only strength that can protect us and sustain us in the midst of trying situations. We have to lean on God so that we can become strong in these things. This will be the only way that we can remain upright when Satan tries to attack us.