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But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
Everyone will go through trials in life and some very long and arduous. It is our battle stance, our commander, which determines the outcome. Your battle stance should be one of complete trust, firm and immovable, in your Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been through and He has our victory assured as we trust in Him.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“We walk by faith and not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7)
I. The Battle-Recognizing and who authored it.
II. Your Armor—Discovering what your armor is and using it.
III. Continuing to Victory—Continue without wavering to use your armor.
I. The Battle
Sometimes the battle can hit all at once and without warning and make you feel as if the wind just got knocked out of you. It can throw you for a loop and you are human and everyone will react emotionally especially if the battle is great and brings with it a lot of fear.
What do you do? It doesn’t matter what it is or how bad it looks to you, Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The key to winning is knowing WHOSE you are, a child of the Most High God!
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)
You may not know a way out or how your situation can possibly be fixed, but God does. He knows the end from the beginning. He has already been through your problem, even the ones caused by your own free will and bad choices and He is able and mighty to save and deliver!
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love, He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
So, once you see that there is hope in having the Lord fight your battle, what is your daily armor?
II. Your Armor
What is your armor? The first and foremost is Jesus being your Lord and Savior and the next is related to it, it is your faith! This you can find in Ephesians 6.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make 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 world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of 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. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.”
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
1. Belt of Truth—in some translations it says, “Gird your loins,” which is your lower back area. This needs to be strong to hold up your upper body. So, knowing the Truth, Jesus Christ and the Word will also hold you up and keep you strong.
2. Breastplate of Righteousness—which is worn around the chest area, covering your heart. In your heart is where the Lord-His Holy Spirit resides. Through our faith in Him, receiving what He did on the cross, we are made righteous. But we must continue to live a righteous life and we can through His strength and staying close to Him.
3. Gospel of Peace—“shoes fitted with the gospel of peace.” Your shoes keep your feet protected as you travel. When we are fitted with the gospel of peace, we are living by the Word, we believe it and stand on it, and we trust God, without wavering.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
But it is also living in peace with all men, forgiving and loving them as God commands. When they hurt us, just let go of the heavy weight of bitterness, and give it over to God to handle, and He will! That way we do not lose our joy and peace, which is what the devil’s intentions were in bringing that hurt on you. Don’t fall for it!
4. Shield of Faith—The Roman soldiers carried shields covered in animal hide. They would dip it in water when going into battle. This way, when fiery darts hit it, the water would extinguish the fire. This is what faith does for us; when your faith is strong through Jesus Christ, you can face any battle and He will bring you through in victory!
“With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemy.” (Psalm 60:12)
5. Helmet of Salvation—This, like the breastplate of righteousness, rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. When we believe and receive we become a child of God and we have access to all the Kingdom of God has to offer!
“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
6. Sword of the Spirit—The Bible, the Word of God. The Word is your spiritual food keeping you strong spiritually. By it, you know what God expects, what He likes and does not like, and His promises you can stand on!
7. Pray in the Spirit—Heart to God and in Tongues—the devil CANNOT understand your prayer language!
III. Continuing to Victory
Once you have gained your footing and have become aware of your armor, you must continue to use your weaponry given by the Lord until you reach victory. Do not let your guard down. When Nehemiah and his men were repairing the walls and gates of Jerusalem after the exile, they had to keep working with one hand and the other, keeping a sword in their hand. To us that is the Lord Jesus, allowing Him to go before us and be our rear guard and the Word of God. Through others, the enemy tried to intimidate and instill fear and tried to infiltrate with the guise of helping, when they only wanted to destroy the work at hand. Nehemiah did not fall for it nor should you.
We should be diligent to keep our spiritual armor on daily, not out of fear, but out of preparation and protection. Satan will NOT give you a break so we must always be diligent to stay spiritually strong. But you ALWAYS have God to help you and to back you up, He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58)
You are always going to have an enemy, Satan, as long as we are here on earth, but in the end, WE WIN!
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
How do we do that? By keeping your armor on daily! It isn’t hard, just pray to God daily and talk to Him. Share with Him and not just bring Him your list of needs and wants, but talk! He wants that! And read the Word of God daily, it is food for your spirit as food is for the body. Then live by what the Word tells you and what God lays on your heart to do.