Dress for battle!

(Psalms 142:3) “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.”

It’s that time of the year again in the Southern Hemisphere where the first rains are traditionally around the corner; in fact they are a little late or so it seems. Nevertheless the birds sing out with greater vigor and anticipation as if they now eagerly await some great event. Could it be rain, could they be beckoning God to open the Heavens, or maybe they wait for that great day that we too should be eagerly awaiting, the return of our Lord? Whatever their reason it would be impossible to oversee them as they look to be heard and unmistakably have been. Music to my ears! How great is my God! I cannot recall ever hearing such a choir with such gusto and deliberation; something is definitely up, at least for the bird kingdom!

We know that all scripture is given to help us get to heaven. All of it is important, but not all has the same bearing on our lives at the same time. It depends where we find ourselves on any given day, but one thing that is for certain we must all be trained by the Word of God. Yet some instruction would be applied weekly or on any other given day, for example; we see that fasting is part of the Christians arsenal and yet we could never fast every day, neither should we! But there is place for it where and when needed, there is times when we should draw aside in a prayerful manner and fast, this is more the exception than the rule. Then we have instructions that must be done daily and without exception, that is if we look to walk victoriously in the Spirit. We must put on the “whole Armour of God”; “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13): - I have addressed this before but the mind places tricks on itself, it almost likes to believe that this topic is done and dusted. I said almost! This must become a habitual practice, we must put on the “amour of God” and on a daily basis. Without it we are vulnerable to the fiery darts of the devil, do not be fooled! Sure, we do belong to our Saviour as it was His work that saved us and not our own pitiful works, nevertheless now that we are Children of God we have been instructed to walk in a particular fashion, and we will never achieve this without the full armour of God. Not part of it, all of it! The Apostle Paul stresses this point in meticulous detail, the only part of the body that has no protection is ones back, we needn’t worry about what approaches from the rear as our King has given His angels charge over us and they have our back.

I know at times that I forget to get dressed for battle. It is like when I ride my motorbike I have boots that are cumbersome and a padded jacket that is hot to wear especially in summer. But if I reason with a sound mind I understand the advantages they bring me if I have a fall. I am often tempted to leave then behind and I reason like this; it’s just a little ride I am sure I’ll be alright! Is this how we think on the “armour of God”, one can never predict an accident that is why it is called an “accident”? So too, do we need to understand the value of the “armour of God”, the devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, it was the Apostle Peter that taught us this. Just when we think we have got things together, an unexpected trap presents itself and if we and not dressed for battle, it will lead to our undoing. We know that God resist the proud and stretches out His hand to the humble. It is the amour of God that ensures that we remain humble. But ignore part of that amour and we will be unstable!

Therefore let us remember to dress for battle and on a daily basis. It is up to the ranking officials in the army to prepare soldiers for battle. They set up a vigorous program to ensure that those under their command will be the best they can be when in the throes of combat. This is why Paul has instructed us to put on the “whole amour of God”, so that we can be the best we can be when the enemy approaches.

As a young believer I believe I was to be led by the Spirit. I still believe this but with a deeper understanding, do not be fooled into believing that no responsibility has been placed on the individual to train for battle. We must learn to discipline our bodies. In a nutshell we must put on the “whole amour of God”. That may mean we need to put time aside to dress for battle, no differently than when we put time aside to eat. It is a way of life and not a simple add-on. Let us therefore make it a daily practice to train ourselves and to dress for battle.

If you do not put time aside, I fear for you, as I know that even when I put time aside it is not enough as I have not mastered my dress behavioral pattern as yet, but we must heed Paul’s instruction with utmost diligence. The only way we will achieve this goal is more of Christ and less of us. May God here my cry, Amen!

More, much more I pray for all who belong to Him, it is essential to understand the importance of this encouragement.

Be blessed in Him my brothers and sisters in Christ wherever you may find yourselves across the globe.

Signing off

Tyrone