Day is done. Night has fallen and the world is holding its breath waiting for the dawn to come again. In the distance, there’s still the sounds of the world – a faint rumble of 18-wheelers on the highway; and the sound of a siren just audible as this day’s battle is wrapping up. The dishes are in the dishwasher, the kids have been bathed, read to and put to bed. the house is quiet.
Here in this space of quiet, in the Peace of God, is where we learn how to be warriors.
Here we learn to arm ourselves.
We grasp and hold onto Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Salvation, Faith and to The Word. We store up His Words as we prepare ourselves for the coming day.
And on those nights when peace is elusive, when the world seems upside down and inside out, when nothing has gone right for days, months and years on end, He is still there. His Purpose will not be thwarted. He knows the rest of the story and in the midst of pain, grief, anger, frustration, fear, exhaustion and the ‘all-wrong’ that we’ve been battling for such a long time He hides us in the shelter of the rock where nothing can steal our faith, our joy, our praise or our trust in the Almighty Eternal One. For no one can snatch us out of His Hand.
Here we prepare for the next battle.
He knows the minor skirmishes and major attacks that will be coming our way. He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Hiding Place- our Defense. We place our hearts in His Hands and we rest our weary bones once more before we wake with the light of the new day and confront the battles at hand.
Again.
And when it seems all is lost; when we loosen our grasp on our shield; when faith seems small and far away; when righteousness and truth are obscured in the mist; when peace can’t be found and it seems our salvation is in serious doubt; when all these things happen and we feel we’ve lost the battle, it’s not over yet. We can trust Him to shield us, to guide us, to fight for us; to pick up the sword and defend us when there is nothing left in us to fight. He alone is our Boon Companion, both the One who knows us intimately and the one from Whom all blessings flow. The One who understands and sympathizes with us.
We train, we practice and we fight. We are tired, dog-tired at the end of every day. And yet, we can lie down in perfect peace as He watches over us and restores us and revives us.
Beloved, these battles are the death throes of the already defeated enemy. He doesn’t want you to remember you are on the winning side or that the evil that is here is the worst he has to throw at us.
Remember Whose child you are.
Remember Whose armor you wear.
Because, regardless of your earthly parentage or your nationality, or the baggage you bring with you, you have been adopted by Him into the Family with Jesus as your brother. You are a child of the HIGH KING OF HEAVEN and nothing and no one can change that fact.
NOTHING.
So, I ask you to commit this to memory so that it stands before you daily.–
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”Ephesians 6:13-18
We are warriors in the army of the King. Grab your sword.