Put on the Full Armor of God

(This is an image I got from Pinterest. I thought it was a really cool way to display the Armor of God. I was unable to find the original link to the image so it is difficult to give the original author credit, but here is the link to the pinterest spot: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/170996117078134903/)

I hope you have your Bible out, because I would like to encourage you to read Ephesians 6:10-18. This passage in the Bible explains the armor of God. This is where my Prayer Circle devotion was this morning and it really got me thinking about what I do with that information.

I don't know about you, but I can never remember all of the pieces of the armor of God. I get them all mixed up, then just decide to move on and be like "Oh well, you know what I mean." I am a visual learner so I drew my own picture in my prayer journal this morning. It was so bad that I had to find a different one for you to see, but this strategy will help me to remember the tools that God has given me to fight the spiritual battles that I encounter each day. We need to put on this armor of God every day. This is a great visual for us people in need of diagrams and pictures to fully understand something.

Apart from God we are nothing. The Lord can give you the power to fight the enemy that is very real and very active in our culture. He has given us the weapons and the tools to be able to fight the battle when it comes, but if we do not ever pick up the weapon or even look at it before battle, we won't know how to use it effectively or at all. For example, I saw the movie Wimbledon and decided that I wanted to learn how to play tennis after that. I envisioned being an awesome tennis player and being able to keep up with my dad, but in reality I was terrible and could hardly keep the balls on the court. With practice I have become better, but I still have a lot of work to do before I can give my Dad a run for his money. My dad still works with me and is very patient with me through this learning process. This is how God is with us.

God calls us to be in relationship with Him, and through this relationship, He will teach us to put the armor of God to use. He will instruct us how to use the weapons He has provided for us. We just need to take the time to practice.

I have been working on my reactions and responses to situations. I want so badly to be able to just let go and trust that God will take care of things and that He will defend me, yet I continue to take it on myself and react in anger rather than love or submission. It's not working out so well for me.

The armor of God is going to be a great visual for me to work toward. I can play the Rocky theme song while I work with God to build my skills in the use of these weapons.

My game plan is to list each of the armors that He provides and ask God to show me how I can learn to use them. I will keep God as my coach during the learning phase and practice and He will be my leader during battle.

Helmet of Salvation:
Breastplate of Righteousness:
Sword of the Spirit:
Belt of Truth:
Shoes to be ready for the Gospel of Peace:

God will help me fill in those blanks next to each piece of armor. What ideas do you have? Do you take on the armor daily or do you need to sit down with your coach and come up with a game plan?