There’s a famous passage in the bible about putting on the armor of God in the war against evil. From this passage we know what the pieces of armor are and when to put them on. But how do we know when it is time to take the armor of God off?
What is the armor of God and when should we put it on?
This passage is found in Ephesians 6. The armor includes:
- Belt of Truth
- Breastplate of Righteousness
- Boots of the Gospel of Peace
- Shield of Faith
- Helmet of Salvation
- Sword of the Spirit
For a spine-tingling video about this armor, click The Full Armor of God. Of course, you understand that this is spiritual armor, we don’t actually go around in metal garments.
How to know when to put the armor of God on
Every day I mentally put the armor of God on. The spiritual forces of evil are very real and very present, every single moment of every day. We can’t see or hear or smell them, but we can feel their effects on the broken world around us.
Without a doubt, each one of us has wounds caused by the flaming arrows of the evil one. We may think our wounds are caused by a prickly person, but this passage says that is not the source. The source is spiritual evil.
How to know when to take the armor of God off
The armor of God is meant for the spiritual battle, against the powers and authorities and spiritual forces of evil that are in the world. It expressly mentions that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Our battle is not against other people. Not even against prickly people.
After putting on the spiritual armor of God, we need to take off the physical armor that we want to wear. We want to protect ourselves from those prickly people around us by wearing armor.
Our physical armor may include:
- Hard hearts
- Unforgiving attitudes
- Snide sarcasm
- Rolling eyes, scowling faces
- Closed body language
- Contemptuous attitudes
When do we take off this physical armor of God? Every day. When we encounter prickly people. These are broken people, just like us. They cannot be won by battle gear. They cannot be healed with swords. They cannot be shown love through breastplates and helmets.
When you encounter prickly people, take off the armor of God. Lay down your sword, toss your shield in the trash.
Jump into the earthly fray with your arms open wide, your heart on your sleeve, and love in your eyes.
…because U count, deb