I Didn’t See That Coming: Don’t Walk into a Fight Naked
“Don’t walk into a fight naked”
During this series we are learning about spiritual warfare and the importance of understanding how to prepare ourselves accordingly. Spiritual warefare is a real thing. The hope for everyone is that we would grow in our awareness that there are battles going on constantly, both seen and unseen. We know this to be true because of what the Bible tells us.
Ephesians 6
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.
The good news is that while this fight is happening (whether we acknowledge it or not) God has given us weapons in the fight, to strengthen us and equip us. Not everything hard in life is the devil, but the devil is real, and he is a liar, we don’t need to fear him, but we do need to be aware of him.
The truth is that often in life we show up ill prepared and what we then experience hurts. Essentially we show up naked, we don’t recognize that we have weapons available to us and that they are even needed. But when we do, and we put on the armor of God we show up prepared and ready to fight.
Main Point: We are in a constant spiritual battle, and God has given us the tools we need to fight.
The Armor of God:
Belt of Truth: We need to be grounded in scripture to combat lies and confusion.
Breastplate of Righteousness: We need to remember our identity in Christ and not be defined by shame or past failures.
Shoes of Peace: We need to walk with Jesus in all situations, finding peace in his presence.
The battle we face each day is real. Not only is God aware of that but Jesus himself also faced it. His identity was again and again called into question in this attack. Lies were thrown at him, but he was able to protect himself with the belt of truth. He knew who he was and who he belonged to, and he knew he didn’t walk alone. Friends, remember that we are children of God and when we walk into battle we don’t go alone.