Check back each Monday for a short devotional with Chaplain Art Pace to help you start the week off well.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:13
During a training exercise, at oh dark thirty our unit was awakened by our Sergeant Major and told to fall into a hasty formation. He held up a rifle, and explained that he found it outside the latrine about a half hour before. We then got a lecture that when the enemy attacks, he does not care where we are or what we are doing. Each of us needs our weapon at all times in order to respond. We were counseled that whoever left that weapon behind had not only put himself in danger, but all those who were counting on him. The Sergeant Major eventually identified who the weapon belonged to, and he was properly dealt with.
This need for preparedness equally applies to Christians. Too often we neglect pieces of our Spiritual armor because we have been too busy, or in my case sometimes, too lazy. We go into our day wearing only part of our Spiritual battle rattle, which puts us in imminent danger from the enemy. It can also impact those who are counting on us to be strong in our faith.
Therefore our Christian Sergeant Major, in this case the Apostle Paul, orders us to be prepared, to always be mission ready. We are to take personal inventory to ensure that all our Spiritual equipment is with us at all times, and not just some. He reminds us that such attention to detail is worth the effort, for it not only allows us to prevail in Spiritual warfare, but to emerge victorious.
How often do you go into your day bearing only some of the armor of God? Which piece of armor is the most difficult for you to put on?
