Life Is a Battle; Dress Appropriately
Dressed to Face Life
I think it’s really important that Christians are properly dressed to face life. A lot of people seem to be going through life dressed for a picnic or a party instead of the way the Scriptures describe the Christian life: a battle. The New Testament constantly compares our Christian life to the conquest of the promised land back in the Old Testament, which was an ongoing, lengthy, blood-and-guts battle. And that physical battle then gets transposed in the New Testament onto our battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil: our constant enemies.
The Whole Armor of God
Iain M. Duguid
Duguid walks through the “armor of God” passage in Ephesians, examining the Old Testament context of each piece of armor and encouraging readers as they fight sin while resting in the finished victory of Christ.
It makes a difference in how we engage every day. If we engage the day thinking, Today’s gonna be easy, then we are not prepared for the things that life can throw at us. But if we go through life expecting it to be a battle then we’re prepared ahead of time. When you see journalists who are in the battle zone, they sleep in their body armor. They have their helmet in their hands as they sleep because they never know when they’re going to need it. You don’t put your armor on once the battle starts, you wear your armor so you’re ready when the battle starts.
God goes through that battle with us and he strengthens and supports us in that battle.
It will really help us in our Christian warfare if we go into the battle prepared for what is coming toward us. The Bible is very honest about the Christian life. It is suffering now, glory later. Yes, God is with us, God goes through that battle with us, and he strengthens and supports us in that battle. But life here is hard, and the older I get as a Christian, the more I see that played out in my own life.
Iain M. Duguid is the author of The Whole Armor of God: How Christ’s Victory Strengthens Us for Spiritual Warfare.
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