Spiritual Armor For The Soul

"Today's Devotion" For July 26, 2006

Read: Ephesians 6:10-18; Psalm 27

SPIRITUAL ARMOR FOR THE SOUL

"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." (Ephesians 6:10, 11)

The questions of might, power, and body armor are significant concerns for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fighting a new kind of war - a war against terrorism - they are facing roadside bombs detonated electronically from a safe distance and suicide bombers who load up their bodies with explosives and detonate them, and themselves, in populated places. Over the course of the current conflict, questions have frequently been raised over the quality and quantity of adequate armor, both body armor and armored vehicles, available for our troops. A week or so ago, a National Guardsman from Cedarburg, Wisconsin was killed by a roadside bomb while passing by in a Humvee - apparently because of inadequate armor. The training and equipping of the troops has again become an issue raised by both his father and the member of Congress of whom this young man was a constituent.

Sadly, the reality of life tells us that we can never create the perfect body armor, the perfectly armored vehicle, or any type of perfect protection that will keep us totally safe from harm. We live in a sinful, imperfect world, and while we're capable of accomplishing remarkable things, even to the point of providing a level of safety and security on the field of battle undreamed of by generations of soldiers in the past, we still cannot guarantee perfect protection for our troops. Facing reality, we do the best we can, pray that our best is good enough, and put everything in the hands of God.

While roadside bombs, bullets, mortars, and suicide bombers bring destruction, death, and grevious injury to our troops in the field, the greater danger to them is posed by the wiles and cunning of the devil as he seeks to keep them from God's love and strike them with the poisonous darts of doubt and despair, fear and frustration, hopelessness and loneliness. Whether it's on the field of battle, being far from home, or even, working and living in conditions not conducive to normalcy, keeping one's spiritual safety is a greater challenge than anything our earth bound enemies can throw at us.

Yes, us. For no matter where we are in the world, God's people are always on the battlefield; we're always in a life-threatening conflict with sin, death, and Satan. The power of Sin in the world is much more devastating and insidiously catastrophic than anything the terrorists can throw our way. Whether we speak of our troops in the field or ourselves in our places of work, play, and community, the greatest danger we all face is that we might be led to succumb to the power of Sin and Satan because we've ignored "the full armor of God" - His Word and Spirit - and are ill-prepared spiritually to overcome them.

St. Paul understood the challenge, perhaps better than almost everyone else other than Jesus Himself. Paul had personally faced challenges to his faith and trust in God, challenges to his personal safety, and challenges to his health and well-being. His life was constantly on the line, even to the point of dying for his faith in Jesus. In the end, we know he ended up paying the ultimate price of faith in Christ as he was martyred in Rome. Yet, until that moment of his death, Paul depended on the "full armor of God" to keep him faithful and able to withstand the spiritual dangers that would have drawn him away from Christ and to his eternal destruction. On a daily basis, Paul's life of ministry and mission reflected his confidence and trust in God's loving protection, just as David had declared, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

We have been blessed by God to know His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Christ by which God strengthen us and keeps us in the one, true faith. We have the power of God's Word and Spirit to keep us safe from the snares and wiles of the devil as he seeks to drive a wedge between us and our Father in heaven. Paul's description of the "full armor of God," leads us to a faith-filled appreciation of God's provision for our spiritual protection and safety regardless of anything the powers of Sin and Satan can throw at us, the redeemed in Christ. By God's grace and blessing, in His great love and compassion, we are equipped by faith to overcome the world, push aside the temptations of Sin, and face down the devil's attempts to turn us away from God. While our own "protections" may fail us (and they do), and all the body and vehicle armor we use to ensure our physical safety are never fully adequate, God's "armor for the soul," His Word and Spirit, will keep us safely in the arms of Jesus, forgiven and hopeful until we are with Him in heaven.

Prayer: Father, all too often I try to take care of my soul and spirit with the inadequate tools of my intellect and emotions. Whatever "armor" I can construct for myself against the spiritual dangers I face in life are as inadequate as any body or vehicle armor provided for the protection of troops on the field of battle. My personal efforts to overcome temptation go only so far before I fall flat on my face in failure. I'm "down for the count" and realize I can't get up and overcome without You to pick me up, dust me off, and get me focused on You. Forgive me, Father, for depending on myself instead of You; for so often forgetting about You and Your blessings to me. Thank You for the power of Your Word and Spirit (especially as You fill me with them each day in the power my Baptism) by which the snares, wiles, and darts of the devil are turned aside from me and I am kept safely in Your arms - protected by Your "armor for the soul." As I rest safely in Your arms, lead me to be a faithful witness in my life and words to others so they, too, might come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and receive the "full armor of God" - "armor for their souls" - for eternal life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.