Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
We learned yesterday that our battle is “against flesh and blood, but against rulers and powers…of darkness and wickedness in heavenly places”, v. 12. We are clearly outmatched and we need help. God will help us. He has given us armor which is meant to protect us. We will learn what that armor is over the next few entries.
These attacks could happen any time. We aren’t sure when. We need to be prepared when they occur. We can try to do some predictions. We are most vulnerable when we are busy, hungry, tired or stressed. Our antenna can be up at those times. We can also expect problems when we are entering a tempting situation that can’t be avoided. The longer we’ve walked with Christ, the more we are able to sense vulnerability.
Our purpose in the attack is to resist and stand firm. I want to address the “standing firm” first. I picture those is in the South preparing for a hurricane. They’ve been warned and they are making preparations. They want to stay put and not have their house destroyed. They shutter the windows and secure anything that’s loose. Bikes and lawn mowers are put away. When the attack comes, we have done well just to hold our ground.
What could be considered an attack? It’s different for most of us. It usually depends on our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. If I had an addiction to substances, it would be when I was down and the tempting agent fell in my lap. Usually being down gives us the justification to use. We feel we deserve it, having just gone through a bad time. We’ve all experienced this in our own area of weakness. It’s like comfort food in a particular time.
The other description given of our job is to resist. Most of these temptations, etc., occur in the mind. The thought enters our mind and the battle begins. We could be in the midst of a battle and no one around us is aware. One way to resist would be to ask a friend to pray for us. Being isolated is dangerous. What also helps is to attempt to rid ourselves of the thought. Pastor Rick Warren calls it “changing the channel”. Philipians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Sometimes changing the channel is very difficult. When temptation, anger, fear, etc. grabs us, it’s not easy to switch. It almost has its own energy that sweeps us away. Here’s a bit of wisdom I’ve heard that first responders use to keep cool in very tense situations. They stay logical. Try to engage in a logical task. It may involve doing a sudoku puzzle or something that engages our frontal lobe. Sometimes we are busy and can’t stop. Rcciting times tables (or anything requiring memory) can help get us out of the emotion/temptation. I know this doesn’t sound spiritual, but it helps to calm down or stay steady.
Lord, help us to be ready when the attacks come and help us to resist and stand firm.