Ephesians 6:10-11 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.

A vitally important detail that we often forget about spiritual warfare is that our strength will never cut it, but God’s strength is available to us. We can get all fired up about injustice, immorality, and evil of all kinds, but if we try to get on our white horse and ride out against it on our own, we are doomed for disaster. God does want to use us in spiritual warfare, for a number of reasons. Of course, He does want evil defeated, just as it says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8) However, He also wants to use the experience of spiritual warfare to train and grow us as His children. We use words like “seasoned” and “battle hardened” about people who have been through war. Of course, not everyone responds the same way to the experience, and not all those ways are good, but a taste of real conflict can go a long way toward making someone really grow up. In spiritual warfare, the best lesson we can learn is total dependence on God, along with total obedience to Him. Some people read this passage and only hear, “Be strong and put on the armor.” However, it’s those qualifiers – in the Lord, of God – that make all the difference.

I have been involved in some very intense spiritual warfare, and actually, it’s pretty nearly continuous. The world today is a battlefield from corner to corner. I need to accept the “R&R” the Lord offers me at times, because otherwise I won’t be available when needed in the battle. At no point am I to think that it’s my strength or my skill that will get the job done, but I should have no doubt that God’s strength and wisdom are more than capable of getting the job done through me. A real part of the problem is in discerning exactly what the fight is about. Sometimes I might want to see physical healing, but the Lord wants to do something on a deeper level. Sometimes I might be focused in one direction, and then discover that the Lord was using me at that very moment in a direction I wasn’t even aware of. I’ve got to “sleep in my armor,” never getting careless, but I am also never to be anxious. It’s not a minor thing that my footwear is to be “the readiness of the gospel of peace.” I could never get the job done, but God positively can, and that is enough.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I’ve been pretty busy with skirmishes recently! Thank You for the fights I’ll be in today. Help me indeed be fully clothed and equipped, totally obedient to You, my Commander, so that the devil’s schemes may be defeated at every turn and people set free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!