I have spent the last month or two preparing to speak at a women's retreat in November about the Armor of God out of Ephesians 6. Many of you are probably very familiar with this passage of Scripture, but I really wanted to look at it from a very practical viewpoint. If you know me at all, that will not surprise you! I love simple and practical! The same held true during my years in the financial aid world whether I was teaching a group how to use a new software, giving a presentation on leadership, or walking my staff through a new workflow. The same is true today as I do my best to share what God has laid on my heart. 

There are two verses I want to highlight this week - Ephesians 6:12-13 in the ESV:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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."

Here is my takeaway:

• Verse 12 makes it very clear that we are not fighting against flesh and blood. We are in a spiritual battle against Satan and his army—not each other. It is easy to forget that in a world where gossip flows easily and words in a social media post are spewed out with little or no thought. What would change if everything were said in person and in the presence of the one we are speaking about so that we are immediately held accountable? Our current culture of division and offense plays right into Satan's strategy to pit us against one another and forget he and his army are our real enemy. 

• Verse 13 begins with 'therefore.' Any time we see that word, we need to slow down and look back to see what premise or Truth it is referring to. In this case, we can look back to verse 12 and know that because we are in a spiritual battle, we need spiritual armor! Why? Because we, in our flesh, are unable to stand against the attacks of these spiritual enemies. We must have God's strength and the armor He has provided to withstand evil. Notice the Scripture says withstand, not bypass or be exempt from evil. God has provided the armor we need, but it is up to us to choose to use it to fight the real enemy or be distracted and fight each other instead.

• Verse 13 also tells us we need to take up the whole armor of God. We cannot simply use the pieces that are convenient for us while ignoring others. That means we do not get to wear the Helmet of Salvation but leave off the Belt of Truth. We may be secure in our salvation, but if we allow truth to be subjective or fail to stand on God's Truth, we have holes in our armor making it impossible to withstand the enemy. 

These are my thoughts as I read these two verses in Ephesians. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Join our private Savor Community Facebook page and let me know. 

Join me each Tuesday for the next few weeks as we walk through each piece of armor and how to practically put it on.