Are You Wearing Your Armor?
I left myself exposed to the enemy’s schemes for most of my life. I practically gave him high-fives and brushed off the welcome mat without ever being aware. He strolled right in because God’s armor dangled from a hook in my closet—untouched.What does it look like to be unprotected from the enemy’s schemes? Do we even need protection? The consequence of not wearing the armor of God looks very similar to the mess made by a child who is walking for the first time.
An object of His Desire
We can all picture the frenzied joy and screams of a baby who lost the wobbliness of his legs as he attempts to outrun his parent. Everything he wanted to touch and see and taste from the height of his parents’ arms is now within his reach. The room, cat’s tail, trash cans, purses, and dangling cell phones are his playground. He must have it all.While toddling to a glass bowl displayed on a sofa table, Dad sees his child and steps between the boy and the object of his desire. The son grabs the knees of his dad’s jeans and tries to pull him out of the way. He throws back his head and wails at the unfairness. Every bounce, push, and cry is fruitless. Dad won’t budge.The baby toddles away in defeat to something else, but that bowl is forever on his mind. The next time the pathway is free and clear, he will be running in that direction.
Living Unprotected
Now imagine this scenario, and Dad is not in the room. What level of damage would that little boy create if Dad stepped away for a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days? Pots would be scattered across the kitchen, the trash can’s contents emptied, every photo album opened with pictures ripped out, the frazzled cat licking his wounds, and the coveted bowl is off the table and on the floor in a million glittering pieces.We are the object the enemy desires. He wants us as shattered and broken as that scattered sofa table bowl. The enemy's only mission is to have us, and he can only succeed when Dad is not in the room.
Related Post: We Cannot Be Not Safe Not Yet
How much time are you willing to give the enemy free and clear access to your life? Minutes? Days? Years? Without praying for God’s armor daily, what amount of disorganization, confusion, and pain can the enemy create when he has complete and unobstructed access to you?
Dad Steps In
The enemy’s destruction methods may not be as obvious as a young child left alone in a room. Our brokenness may come in small increments, unnoticed, until we crack from the inside out.Temptations, fears, anxiety, and hopelessness are what the enemy tries to spin as our reality.
Without God’s armor, the truth is hidden in the shadows the enemy creates.
Satan is defeated. He knows he can’t stand against the greatness, power, and strength of our God. He’s a dead man walking with nothing to lose, so his main and only objective is to make sure God loses you.God isn’t going to shove us into his protection even though He knows how much we need it. Have you ever tried to shove your child into a winter coat when they were screaming, “It’s not even cold outside!” They are oblivious to the dangers, and so are we.Your Dad is waiting to step in and engulf you in the protection and love gifted to you through the life and death of His precious Son.