Devotional Thought – When We Need His Armor The Most

26 Oct Devotional Thought – When We Need His Armor The Most

“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.” Ephesians 6:13 

This seems to be a very odd ending to such a blatant battle cry. Normally the soldier is told to gear up, get ready, for the battle by putting on his armor, but here he’s told to gear up to do nothing more than stay back in the camp. This seems to be a very strange statement. One would naturally consider the hard part of the Christian life to be the day of battle, the hour of the conflict. Paul, however, takes a different view. He see the difficult day, the time of testing to be that which comes after the fight has ended.

If we were to write this passage we would probably write something like, “Therefore put on the whole armor of God, and stand ready to face your foe, so that when the evil day is over you will have defeated your enemy.”  However, Paul says the exact opposite. Paul says that the hardest part is not the fighting, but the reseting. He sees the greatest danger as coming when the Christian has “done all” –  and Paul is right!

The hardest part of the Christian life isn’t found in the field, but in the barracks. You see, in the heat of battle, when we’re surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, it is much easier to lay aside those things that weigh us down.  But when the battle has ended and all is quiet, when there is no longer a foe to fight or a wreath to win, when the battlefield is our heart and our foe our own desires, when their is no human voice to shout, “Well done!” and no audience to say, “He fought a good fight!” – that is the time when our armor is needed the most.

That’s why I pray that the Lord will equip and strengthen me for the quiet times when I’m all alone by myself. So many times I find that when the hour of battle comes I am brave, but when it is over I am weak. As a pastor, I see this lived out in the lives of those who have recently lost a loved-one. There are the hours when they have to be strong. There are friends and family to speak to, a service to be arranged and attended. There are letters to write and words of appreciation to give. Many people drop in to share their love and a word of encouragement. There is a brave, strong face that is presented to all, but when everybody is gone and they are all alone there is a cry that comes from deep inside begging the Lord to save them from themselves. They petition the Lord to guard them from the loneliness of their own heart and equip them to stand against their self.

How many times have I been bold and brave in the middle of the battle because I heard the cries of my companions? How many times have I pressed forward because of the encouragement and sympathy of my brothers in arms? Don’t I need those same cries even more in the middle of my night’s watch? The day’s work is much easier because there is something to do. But what about at night, when I’m alone in the shadows, and there is no work that can be done?

We must learn that the heart has an even greater work than the hand. We must realize that we are not only soldiers when we are in the midst of the battle, and that courage which can endure is far greater than that which can only strike. Thus, there is a greater heroism to be found in Gethsemane than is even found at Calvary, for it was alone in the Garden that Jesus took the weight that only He could bear and set His face to finish the work that only He could do.

My Lord has armed me with a sword for the conflict, but He has also equipped me with a breastplate for when all is calm. Thus, my armor will only be complete when I, having done all, can simply stand.