Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the whole armor of God. It begins in verse 10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” The word “power” means “dominion” or “sovereignty.” Many people can’t control smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, or making bad habits because these things have dominion over them. If you don’t take dominion, things will rule over you.
Verse 13 goes on to say, “and having done all, stand.” The word “stand” in Greek means “covenant.” Put on the whole armor that you may covenant with God against the deception, or tricks, of the devil. When you enter covenant with God, you and God come together as one. Whatever belongs to Him now belongs to you, and whatever belongs to you now belongs to Him.
If I make a covenant with God, I can stand against the devil, and the devil will have no right to destroy me. When COVID comes into my household, I have the power to rebuke the devil because I am in covenant with the One who gave me life. This is what it means to put on the whole armor of God, to accept and live with God’s promises.
I have a friend battling cancer right now, but she is still standing firm with the promise of God. One day, she updated me that she is improving and doesn’t need any chemotherapy. “I knew it!” I said, “Having done all through the covenant with God.”
When you think there’s nothing good happening, remember God has a promise for you. God has done all, and all you need to do is stand firm and be strong. It’s not YOUR strength in which you stand; it’s COVENANT strength.
Jumping to verse 17, it says, “Take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” The Greek word for “spirit” is “pneuma,” which means “breath.” The Sword of the Spirit is the breath of God, the air you breathe, the Word of God on your lips. If you are not living the breath of life, then you are dying.
With protective gear and His sword, God has equipped us to win every battle. The writer of Ephesians told us to pray always in verse 18. To stand against the devil, we need first to pray. Then, we are to declare the written Word of God. When you pray and open your mouth to speak the Word of God in boldness, in confidence in the Spirit, your battles will never overtake you.
There are days that you have dropped your sword and allowed the world to dictate what you can and cannot do, where you would and wouldn’t go, and what you should and shouldn’t do. The world has proven that it can manipulate and control you with fear. Sometimes the devil will threaten us to get us to deny God and become his slave. But you can be like David, who stood firm against the sword and the spear of Goliath, because he has the Sword of the Spirit!
The Sword of the Spirit is both offensive and defensive because you can attack the enemy and at the same time protect yourself from the enemy. Its two edges give it a double meaning. One type of sword is long, so you can reach your enemy at long range. The other type of sword is called a spear-short, and it is for fighting those devils close to us: people who say you’re no good, you’re not going to make it.
The other meaning to the two-edged sword is that there are two definitions for the Word of God: “logos,” the written Word, and “rhema,” the spoken Word. You MUST get the written Word into your heart so that the spoken Word can come out of your mouth!
Take up your sword and fight today. Hold on to the Word. Stop looking at your circumstances or your problems. Keep your eye on your sword because the enemy is fast at taking it away! Jesus fasted 40 days and nights, and when He hungered, the enemy came to take the Word from Him. The enemy is going to fight you in your weakest season. He will come to tempt you. It may be the time when you are beyond discouraged and frustrated. The only way your enemy will know it is your weakest season is by what comes out of your mouth, so be watchful what you let out!
If today you find yourself in a difficult season, maybe you’ve laid down your sword, maybe the enemy is tempting you to doubt God, I encourage you to pick your sword back up. Pray. Speak the Word. Do what you know to do. Don’t back down, and don’t let fear rule of reign. Victory is yours if you will put on the whole armor of God, and having done all, simply stand.
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