Armor of God
Last week, I spoke about my fears of raising my children in today’s world and the comfort that God has shown me during those times of anxiousness. CLICK HERE to read more.
“(3) Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (4) Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” Psalm 127:3-4
God has blessed us with these precious little loves. Children are a reward (and sometimes a handful). God has gifted us with these blessings, and it is our responsibility to raise them to know God’s truth.
The world is going to speak its “truth” to our children. The devil is going to be constantly whispering lies into our children’s ears (“no one likes you, you’re a bad son/daughter, you’re so dumb, you shouldn’t even be here”) just like he does to us (“you’re a bad mom, you’re worthless, he doesn’t love you, she does it so much better than you”). These lies are so sneaky because they sound like they could be true. And when the world is pushing its “truth” on our children and the devil is pushing its “truth” on our children it’s going to be hard for our children to stand strong unless they are standing firm on THE TRUTH—Jesus.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
God has entrusted us with these precious lives. It is our job to teach them about God’s love, God’s faithfulness, God’s power, God’s grace, and God’s mercy. It is our job to protect our children, and in order to protect our children from the evil things in this world and the lies of the devil, we must teach our children to put on the armor of God each and every day.
“(10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (12) 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. (13) 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. (14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (18) 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. (19) Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, (20) for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Ephesians 6:10-18
Let’s imagine that there is a blizzard outside. Snow is coming from every direction. It’s -20 degrees out, and our children want to go outside to play in the snow. Are you going to send them outside in a bathing suit (although my second son would probably ask to wear that in the snow)? NO!!! You’re going to bundle them up in a big jacket, gloves, boots, thick pants, and a hat. You want to keep that little body of theirs warm and protected.
God doesn’t want our children, or us, to go out in “the blizzard (the world)” in a bathing suit, so he provides us with armor that will be protection from the cold lies and evils. God gives us:
“The belt of truth” and “breastplate of righteousness” (verse 14) – the truth is Jesus and the righteousness is Jesus’ grace of dying on the cross for us when He didn’t have to.
“Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (verse 15) – there will be “wicked” encounters, but show Christ’s love during those times.
“Shield of faith” (verse 16) – our faith is stronger when we worship and pray together with other Christians.
“Helmet of salvation” (verse 17) – the devil is going to try to cause doubt in salvation, doubt that God loves us, doubt that God could forgive us, but God assures our salvation!
“Sword of the Spirit” (verse 17) – study the Bible so you know God’s truths.
“Pray in the Spirit” (verse 18) – this is the most powerful armor. God can intercede through prayer.
It is our job to teach our children to put on their armor so they can stand firm in God’s truth and not begin to believe the “truths” of the world. Our children, and we, cannot stand strong on our own against the lies the devil whispers. We need the Lord’s strength, so that is why we must teach our children about God’s love, power, mercy, grace, and faithfulness! And we must pray that our children come to know THE TRUTH!
