The Raging War: Take Up Your Armor to Win

The Raging War: Take Up Your Armor to Win

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.” 2 Corinthians 10:3

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

My entire life - even before I was a Believer - I was always attuned to things going on around me that just felt off. I never really understood it, but I could discern when something in my mind, my family, the world around me, was not something that should be. This led me to a lot of convictions as a kid that people didn’t agree with or really even understand - but I always stayed strong in them - even when it was isolating.

When I became a Christian, one of the most relieving things to me was understanding that this discernment was God walking with me in all those years without knowing Him - pointing me to the truth and not the darkness. As I learned more about the war raging in the world around us - the ultimate war of good versus evil - I realized how lucky I was to have been given this gift from God, even without knowing Him yet. 

Not everyone is as lucky - Christian or not. 

We live in a world with so much darkness. So much evil. 

And unfortunately, so many of us are falling victim to that evil. So many of us have the devil whispering in our ear, swaying our minds, hardening our hearts, and breaking our soul.

And ladies - you see this showing up in the world around you everyday. 

Maybe on a personal level you are struggling with anxiety or depression. Maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe you are far from the Truth of scripture and are caught up in the lies of society. 

On a bigger scale we see it happening in the secular world. The lies that so many of our culture has bought into. We see it in our governmental leadership. In the atrocities of child trafficking and so much more. 

Now let me pause and remind us of the scripture above: 

We are not waging a war of the flesh. 

This means that we are not at war with individuals. We are not at war with the choices of individuals and therefore the cultural clashes of varied thought and opinion. 

We are at war with the demons who are using deception and lies to infiltrate the minds and hearts of individuals to steer them away from Christ either through extreme opposition of ethical thought or even more dangerous, through apathy. 

It is so important as we learn to recognize this war around us and fight to protect ourselves from falling victim to the ideas being spread by Satan, that we do not blame individuals. Instead we must recognize how they are being controlled. 

We may still choose to denounce their beliefs, remove ourselves from their presence, or even speak out against the atrocities that they are doing or saying, but let us remember that it is the enemy who is controlling it.  

Quick theological background…

Since creation our world has been living in spiritual battle. As early as Genesis 3 when the serpent is introduced into the cannon, we see evil forces working against God’s plan. 

We are then introduced to the Nephalum later on in Genesis - giants who are a half human half fallen angel species that is threatening to lead humans astray from God. Leading them into evil. God decides to wipe them from the earth with a flood - saving only Noah and his family. 

However, as we move throughout the Old testament a common thread amongst all of human progress is the inclination to sin on the human heart led by the powers of evil. We are introduced to the idea of Satan and in turn demonic entities. While culturally we call Lucifer (the devil) Satan, Satan is actually a Hebrew word meaning “adversaries”. Satan is the collective estimated ⅓ of angels that fell from God’s grace and turned into evil forces - calling Earth their home and domain. 

The goal for them is simple: turn humans away from God so He does not have the power to win the war. 

What does this mean for us as believers? For our world? 

It means that we have to be constantly vigilant towards the deception and accusation the devil wields to take us away from Christ. It means that we have to armor ourselves against him at all costs so that we can guarantee that he does not win. 

We know from scripture that when this war does end, God will come out victorious. That doesn’t mean that the devil won’t try to change that - proving in his tactics and intention alone that he doesn’t understand the power and omniscient reality of our King. 

Lucky for us, Paul laid out a roadmap for the Ephesians and in turn us, in order to remain steadfast and protected. 

In Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul shares about the Armor of God. As the Ephesians were part of the Roman empire, he used what they knew to his advantage. He likened our spiritual protection to that of the armor of a roman warrior. In so doing, he created the 6 pieces of protection that, as Christians, we have to “take up” in order to remain steadfast in this war raging around us. 

Belt of Truth: 

This refers to the truth in scripture as well as our own personal truth in living a Christian life. The truth of the Lord is that we are loved by a glorious God, we are forgiven, and through giving our life to Him offered eternal salvation. What is the function of a belt? To hold up your pants so that they do not fall. By putting on the Belt of Truth we are holding Christian life up so that it does not fall to the lies of Satan. 

Breastplate of Righteousness

A breastplate was used to protect the vital human organ: the heart. By rooting our life in the moral righteousness of Jesus we are protecting our own heart from deceit. Therefore we must accept Him as our Lord and savior so that our vital organ is forever covered and protected. 

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

The Gospel is the direction of where we shall walk in our life’s journey. Where Christ calls we must follow. By putting on a pair of comfortable and peaceful shoes, we will walk in the direction of light failing to be swayed into a trail of darkness. 

Shield of Faith

The Romans used shields as a way to protect against direct attacks from their enemies. By carrying our own shield of faith in Christ we are able to deflect the attacks that Satan will attempt… because he will attempt. He will deceive. He will lie. He will tempt. By being rooted in our faith and conviction, no attack will bypass our shield and wound us deeply. 

Helmet of Salvation

Another  major organ needed for protection in battle is the head. The home to our mind, thoughts, convictions. In order to protect against the whispers of the enemy and the mind tricks he so loves to use, we have to be rooted in the knowledge of our Lord. Through theological study and intellectual pursuit into our salvation, we can win any attempt on our mind. 

Sword of the Spirit

A sword is our offensive. It allows us to make our own attacks against the enemy. By being learned in the word of our Lord we are able to cut down anyone. What is written gives us the weapon that will defeat temptation and destroy Satan. By knowing the word and allowing the Spirit to fill you, you will fight against the darkness for all eternity. 

Over the past few years I have been in multiple Bible studies - walking with women at various stages in their faith journey. Additionally, as a Christian Counselor and Coach I have sat on the sidelines of so many more women, men, and couples as they themselves discover their life rooted in Christ. Through all of this I have found one common thing always occurs - spiritual warfare. As these people work to become closer to God - rooted in every space possible - Satan attacks their very core, threatening to overthrow their progress.

This happens because Satan knows he is losing another soul. 

So he fights like hell. 

But what is beautiful about this process - albeit scary and exhausting - is that I have always seen God triumphant. He always wins the heart and soul. 

By pushing through the attacks of deceit, lies, and accusations by putting on the full Armor of God, all of these people I have witnessed too have joined that winning side. They have become aware of the war, signed up to be a warrior, bought into the goal, trained for combat, and shown up in every way to remain faithful to the Kingdom. 

And that my friends is how light always overshadows darkness. 

If you are battling the raging war and need help disentangling the parts of you lost to the enemy, turn to Meghan Ray for help. Through coaching at Deep Roots Collective you can be provided a wide range of services from spiritual coaching to family and relationship coaching. Schedule a consultation today by clicking here.