Putting on the Armor

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“Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings, but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.”  — Ephesians 6:11-13

I don’t know about you, but as a soldier the thought that I might lose any ground to an adversary makes me dig deeper, ball up my fists and redouble my efforts to fight and win. I’ve seen soldiers, exhausted and complaining, looking like they would never walk again suddenly leap to their feet and energetically join together to defend against a coming threat. I’ve also seen the look of disgust on the faces of military personnel who have been tricked into some level of defeat. It’s not a good feeling.

As bad as physical defeat is, Paul tells us in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus that the physical battles we face are a diversion. The reality is that the physical battles we fight are caused by the spiritual battle that is going on in the background. These days we are getting more and more accustomed to fighting a physical enemy that uses tricks, lies, ambushes, coercion and terror to try to destroy us. Our physical enemy is merely following the lead of our spiritual enemy—the difference being that our spiritual enemy can also penetrate our homes and directly target our families. Our marriages and families are always on the spiritual front line. We certainly do not want to win the physical battles but lose the spiritual battles.

Satan knows that if he can weaken our marriages, our children lose their security and people who are close to us feel discouraged— not to mention the defeat that we and our spouses will feel. It is the kind of destruction that enemies dream of, devastating and long-lasting. The destruction from a broken marriage can echo through generations as children from broken homes may enter their own marriages with poor self-esteem, fear, dread, and a poor example. For the devil, a marriage is a worthwhile military objective and most people leave it unprotected. That’s why we need to have our armor on!

Ephesians chapter 6, verses 14 – 17 tell us what armor we need, and it’s important to consider each piece of armor and then check that we have it. All of our armor is important to protect our relationship with God, which is the foundation of every strong marriage. But I believe that there are three key pieces that we especially need to protect our relationship with our spouse.

1) Truth holds everything together like a belt – never be dishonest with your spouse. Satan would love to create suspicion and distrust as a wedge in your marriage – don’t let him gain any advantage.

2) Righteousness protects you like the ceramic plates in your body armor — if you have nothing to be ashamed of, Satan cannot wound you and you will not wound your spouse. This can only come through the righteousness of Jesus Christ—we have none on our own.

3) The word of God as your sword (or your M-4 in today’s terms) – this is how you can fight when Satan tempts you with his lies that sin is okay and then tries to lead you astray from your marriage commitment. Know your Bible and you can fire back with truth and force the devil to withdraw. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James chapter 4, verse 7b.

Ask God to fit you with His armor and for His Holy Spirit to stand with you when the devil attacks your marriage so that “when the evil day comes… you will still hold your ground”.

Questions to Share:

1. Can you name a time when Satan has tried to create conflict between you and your spouse?
2. Can you see how telling the truth, maintaining purity, and knowing scripture can help you in the fight for the legacy of your marriage?