Ephesians 6:10 - 18 “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 days of evil come, 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 request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints.”
As I was typing those verses out, I began to think of David. In I Samuel 17 we find the account of David and Goliath.
I Samuel 17:32 - 37 “David said to Saul, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine’ your servant will go and fight him.’ (33) Saul replied, ‘You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been fighting man from his youth.’ (34) But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, (35) I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth, When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. (36) Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. (37) The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine. Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you.’”
Just as in the scriptures in Ephesians, David had prepared himself for the enemy. As I think about today, our Lions and Bears are those things that pop up in life and try to still the joy from us or our friends. The sheep are God’s people. We should be prepared for the attack of evil schemes and then when the big Goliath comes into our lives we will be able to not only fight him off but destroy him.
Now, Saul had a plan, he would have David wear his armor. Sounds like a pretty good thing to do since this giant was so much bigger, more experienced, and older than David. But let’s see what happens when David puts the armor on.
I Samuel 17:38 - 39 “Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. (39) David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.”
Using the analogy in Ephesians, if we do not daily but on the armor of God we, like David, will not be used to it and end up taking it off. David however, was already clothed with all that armor because he came to Goliath in the name of the Lord God Almighty.
Look at I Samuel 17:45 “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
We always think that David used a stone to kill Goliath but he actually was armored with God. He chose 5 smooth stones, why five? Could it be that he had five stones that represented the armor of God? 1. Belt of truth; 2. Breastplate of righteousness; 3. Foot ware fitted with readiness; 4. Shield of faith; 5. Helmet of salvation? But where did the sword come in? Look at I Samuel 17:51 “David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.”
Goliath had the sword in his hand but he never used it. Do you have the sword, the word of God, in your hand? Do you use it?
As you seek Him you will find Him in the Word of God. Use it daily in order to know Him. I pray that you will not find yourself on the side of Goliath with all the equipment readily available but unable to use it. Or that you will feel weighted down with all the armor of God because you are not used to it. Find time each day to give to the Lord in order to know Him better. Ephesians 6:13 says “when the day of evil comes” not “if it will come” rest assured, even if you are satisfied today, there will be a day when evil will come, be prepared. Some people say you can fight off evil with 15 or 20 minutes in the morning, reading the word of God and praying but I say, seek Him all day long. Yes, spend quality time with Him but wherever you are always be mindful of Him, remember His words as you work, remember His words as you play. Pray continually means to praise Him if you are happy, if you are sad, ask Him for joy, if you are scared or frustrated ask Him for peace but always be mindful that He is there.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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