Armor of God by Mayada Naami
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. 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. 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. 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. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people (Ephesians 6, 10-18, NIV).
A friend of mine shared a story with me this weekend and it fit in perfectly with the blog that the Lord had already placed on my heart to write that morning. She was telling me about the childhood trauma she had carried with her all her life which had manifested itself into a reoccurring nightmare for over 20 years. I won’t go into the details of the nightmare, however, during one of her night terrors, when confronted with the evil assailant, she fled and ran for her life. As she was approaching the light, almost free, she heard God say to her, “Go back and face your enemy, tell him you are covered in the blood of Jesus.” She turned around and went back and faced the assailant. When she told him she was covered in the blood of Christ, he disappeared. That was the last night she saw the assailant and her nightmares ended.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7, NIV).
When faced with a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat, our body reacts with a natural physiological response to fight back or flee. In my friend’s case she was fleeing, which is what most people do when they are afraid. We run—hoping that we can escape, and sometimes we never stop running for fear that the threat is still at our heels. The interesting thing is that when we put on armor, the only thing exposed is our back. Consequently, when running away from our enemy, we are exposing our back. Why not put on the Armor of God and face your enemy with the sure knowledge that the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV).