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. Ephesians 6:10-13 (NIV)
God tells us in our verses for today we are to be prepared - strong in the Lord not in self – donning the full armor of God. Going forth in the flesh counts for nothing. In doing so we will be miserable in life - for we are never satisfied; miserable in death - for we will have no hope and most miserable of all after death – for we will have no Christ. We will never be able to fight the wiles of the adversary effectively in mere fleshly power sans the Spirit. The devil is a very subtle foe. He is like a thief waiting to pounce upon us in a dark alley. We are no match for him apart from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. And we will always come up lacking and sorely defeated without depending upon the Spirit’s presence and power within. The seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19:14-16 serve as a proof positive example of this.
On the basis of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice, our love for the Lord Jesus and in the strength of the Holy Spirit’s power, we are to go forth and fight bravely for the faith in this Holy war. Lives are at stake. We fight for truth and righteousness - for the kingdom and the crown. Onward! Is the battle cry as we fight under His banner and not our own. In doing thus we will one day hear Him say, “Well done, brave warrior and good and faithful servant, well done! Remember as well that the more public your position for the Lord and the more eminent your service, the more dangerous Satan’s design against you. But our God is greater still. We are not to be fearful rather courageous.
Be careful not to play with the fires of sin if you do not wish to get burned. Satan knows full well if we draw near to the object of temptation he will soon be effective in getting us to take the “apple”. He is aware that the mere presence of our “Delilah’s” or simply drawing near to them often gets us hooked. We are not to play around with that which we do not desire to take into our hearts. Remember, if he can’t keep us from being saved he desires to keep us from being used. With God’s peace in our hearts and the message of the Gospel on our lips, we can walk triumphantly in Christ Jesus bringing Him much glory and us much good.
As we are engaged in the battle below – enshrouded in smoke and often wrapped in garments of rejection, humiliation and pain – we lift our eyes to the Savior where He is continually interceding and pleading for us. We follow a triumphant Christ – the tide of war is on our side and the cause of God is safe.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:2-5 (NIV)