Prepared for Battle

So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. - Romans 13:12 Whenever I turn to Ephesians 6:13-18 and read Paul's description of the whole armor of God, I think back to a day when I went into another kind of battle without mine. I was part of a Marine invasion force in the South Pacific, and our landing craft had just reached the island when it was hit by two enemy shells. I was not a Christian at the time, and the essence of what I yelled to the other men was, "Let us depart here speedily." So we ran across the beach and began making our way toward the airfield, which was our objective. Pretty soon, a sergeant came to check up on us. When he saw me, he said, "Eims, where is your helmet?" "I must have lost it," I said. He looked again and said, "Eims, where is your duty belt?" My duty belt had my ammo pouches, my first aid kit, my bayonet, and all kinds of other things. "It must be in the landing craft." And then the sergeant got really exasperated and said, "As a matter of fact, Eims, where is your rifle?" In my rush to get out of the landing craft, I had left everything behind. There I was, hopping around from tree to tree, from bush to bush, with no equipment, no weapon, absolutely worthless to the cause. Paul said that if we want to avoid that situation in the Christian life, we are to put on the full armor of God. And we are to pray in the Spirit, on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. Although God has freely provided this armor, you and I have the responsibility of putting it on. Don't go into battle without it. Prayer Lord, thank You for providing the armor I need to stand firm against the Evil One. Amen. To Ponder If the Lord approached you today, would He have to ask, "Christian, where is your helmet? What about your belt, shield, and sword?"