Did you know there really is a war happening in your mind? How do we stand up against it?
Ephesians 6:10 NIV tells us “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
In order to put on the full armor of God and face any battle that comes our way, we have to know God’s truths & turn to scripture to guide us in everything we do.
Imagine this with me – you are in a situation at work in which you are being accused of something you didn’t do. The accuser has notoriously, at least in your mind, been after you ever since you got that promotion they wanted. You want to get even, or at the very least, make sure everyone knows you aren’t who this person has made you out to be. So, logically, you turn to social media, where you post your entire story in a group of people you trust (let’s say a group for cat lovers…you know, the first place most of us would turn…stay with me…). The well-meaning folks in the cat lovers group, who really just feel for your story, suggest you send out a company-wide email detailing every wrong this person has ever done to you and why you deserved that promotion over them. You do as they suggest. You create a larger conflict between yourself and your colleague. Others start to fear that if they open up to you about their faith or anything for that matter, you may do the same thing to them, and so they distance themselves from you. Okay, this is a little extreme, maybe. But the path to get there might not be all that foreign to us.
Let’s think about how Jesus would have handled this, how scripture would have led you. Likely, the situation would have turned out very differently. Perhaps, you would have heard to wait, to be silent for now, to pray. Or maybe God would have called you to personally confront this person with empathy and understanding.
Putting on the armor of God gives us a deeper and more-in-tune relationship with Him!