To stand means to be in an upright position on the feet or to remain firm or steadfast, as in a cause. That can be difficult to maintain if something or someone is pushing against you. There are some types of opposition you might possibly be able to stand your ground against. But if someone is stronger than you, or you try to stand against tornado-force winds, you cannot remain standing. You will fall from the force of the power being used against you.
In Ephesians 6, the apostle
Paul tells us how to stand against evil powers that are much stronger than we
are. We cannot remain standing on our own, but God has provided a way for us. Here
we find the secret to having overcoming strength.
“In conclusion, be strong
in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union
with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of
God,…so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes
and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against
the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present]
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
(supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you
will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of
danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm
[in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold
your ground, having tightened the wide band of Truth (personal integrity, moral
courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of Righteousness
(an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the Gospel of Peace in
preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness
produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take
The helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times…in the
Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition interceding
in prayer] for all God’s people.” [Amplified Bible]
We are to put on the
complete armor, not just a piece here and there. Not just on certain days, or
taking a break every once in a while. It is imperative that our armor stay
intact.
Jesus came into this earth
as the Son of God and the Son of man. His character remained consistent in
every circumstance He encountered. Who He was and His conversation were the
same whether He was with His disciples, the crowds, an individual or the religious
rulers. Even in the presence of evil spirits, He took authority over them.
Jesus’ purpose was also
always the same, and He never let anything divert Him from His purpose. Not the
temptations of the devil, the acceptance of the crowd, the defiance and threats
of the temple rulers or the horrors of the cross. He lived His earthly life
totally surrendered, yielded, to the Father’s will. He spoke the truth clearly
without apology. He understood the urgency of getting His message across to as
many people as would hear Him. Yet He never tried to browbeat them into
conforming. The Truth was there to either accept or reject. Even on trial,
Jesus spoke Truth, knowing the consequences. He realized the power He had over
His interrogators and tormentors, but He also knew His purpose for coming to
this earth as a man. He was faithful to complete it.
Jesus never took a break
from Who He was or His purpose. But He did take occasional breaks from the
crowds, the religious leaders, the busyness of life, the heavy load of the
ministry, and even from His own disciples. He went away alone to talk to His
Father. Being in the presence of God is like recharging our spiritual
batteries.
If we want to stand in
every situation as Jesus stood, we must unceasingly keep ourselves covered with
righteousness, salvation, faith, the gospel of peace, truth, the sword of the
Spirit (the Word of God) and we must continue to pray in the Spirit. If any of
the armor is missing, we have a weak area where the enemy can get an advantage
over us. We never need to take a break from this armor. It is our protection,
authority and strength. Satan looks for a weak area or a missing piece of
armor. He will take advantage of any weakness he finds.
Jesus said we are to be rooted and grounded in
Him. If our roots are deep in Jesus, we have a firm foundation and can remain
standing. “Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear
fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit,
producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. I am the Vine; you
are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for
[otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can
do nothing.” John 15:4-5.
A vase of flowers can be moved from place to
place easily. But a deep-rooted plant remains where it was planted. If you
uproot it, it will die. It is the same with us. Apart from Jesus we can do
nothing.
One Mothers Day
I was handed a small plant as a gift from the church. I was happy to receive
it, but then remembered my track record with plants. I asked my husband on the
way to the car, “I wonder how long it will take me to kill this one?” But I
decided to make it live. I would take good care of it. And I tried. I really
did. But in my exuberance to succeed, I overwatered it and killed it. My
husband tried to revive it by repotting it for me, but to no avail. It made me
sad to think I had killed the little thing. I really wanted it to live.
Have
you ever had a dream or a direction from the Lord that you tried so hard to
make come to pass that you killed it by your own determination and efforts?
Maybe you rushed the timing or took it the wrong direction, and God was not in
it. If we are not careful, we can take the work of God out of His hands, place
it in our own and run with it. That never succeeds. Either He will have to find
another person to carry out His plans or wait until we see our error and turn
it back over to Him. When we do things His way, we will have His power behind it
instead of our own might and power. His plans always succeed.
Can we honestly say that we, like Jesus, are
the same in every circumstance and are loyal to the purpose God has entrusted
to us? Are we suited up in God’s armor all the time, or just part of the time?
Is our character consistent and are we faithful to our purpose every day? Do we
even know what our purpose is? Our purpose is to be at the right place at the
right time by God’s design and to make the right choice when we get there. The
only way we can fulfill our purpose is to be led by the Holy Spirit and take on
the whole armor of God. We can only do that by taking a break from all the
busyness around us so we can hear from the Father.
In the days of Jesus, the laws that were
instituted by God through Moses had been adapted to fit the mindset of those
interpreting it. Many laws were added or taken away to accommodate the new
mindset of the rulers. That sounds familiar to our day. But the problem was
that the law of God is Truth, and if you change or twist Truth, you have
created a separate entity that is a lie. Truth is Truth regardless of how we
choose to view it. Jesus is the Truth, and to speak anything else would be to
speak a lie, which He cannot do. So, when Jesus came teaching truth, it went
against many of their man-made laws. That sounds familiar in our day, too.
Naturally that made Him very unpopular with those who wielded the religious
power of their day. Although His teachings demanded more holiness from the
people, He made it easier to live a holy life by changing our sin nature to a
new nature inhabited by the Spirit of God Himself. “But as many as received him, to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” It was no longer struggling to do what
pleased God. It was a change of heart, a change of nature that allowed people
to be empowered and led by the Spirit of God within them. It was no longer a
physical struggle but a spiritual freedom to do what was right.
As we, the people of God, speak Truth, live
Truth, and walk in Truth, we find ourselves walking against the forces of this
world and the powers of darkness. That is why it is important to have every
piece of our armor in place at all times. Then, and only then, can we stand. We
stand in righteousness, salvation, faith, the gospel of Truth, and the sword of
the Spirit [Word of God], and we continue to pray in the Spirit. That is how we
stand. It is the only way we can successfully stand.
Have you got your armor on?
