Things Are Not What They Seem

Have you ever had a bad day or a bad week where everything just seems to go wrong?

Or you feel like God has abandoned you in the midst of your troubles.

I have good news for you. Things are not what they appear to be.

The troublemaker in our lives is not the Lord--it is the enemy of our souls, the devil. One of his principal weapons in life is accusation. He accuses you that you're not good enough to merit God's blessings and he accuses God that He doesn't care about you. Actually that's what Satan means in Hebrew--the Accuser.

So just how do we deal with these 'evil days'? Well the answer is found in God's Word. Let's take a look at Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

What can we learn from this passage of scripture? Here's what I'm beginning to see and what I'm meditating on right now:

A) Verse 10: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
At the onset we are told whose strength sees us through this--it's not ours, it's HIS mighty power that makes us strong.

B) Verse 11: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
God's strategy for us is to put on or take up elements that He has already provided for us--the full armor of God--to stand against devil's strategies.

C) Verse 12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The enemy uses people to attack us--but they are not the source. The real source behind our attacks is spiritual.

D) Verse 13: 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.
We are to stand our ground in who we are--righteous, loved children of the Father--and not believe the lies of the Accuser who tries to persuade us otherwise through his attacks.

E) Verse 14: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
The TRUTH of God's word holds the armor together (it's characterized as a belt), while our hearts are kept from being disappointed or discouraged by realizing that we are righteous by grace and that things happening around us are not 'God's way of punishing us'.

F) Verse 15: and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Readiness to face the day of evil somes when we realize that our standing with God--or our peace with God (c.f. Romans 5:1)--comes from the good news that God holds nothing against us because of the cross. The bad things that are happening are not God's ways of punishing us!

G) Verse 16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
I like the KJV better for this verse--it says 'above all' instead of 'in addition'. When we take-up the shield of faith--or take God at His word--all the lies of the enemy are snuffed out and his weapons come to nothing! So the Bible doesn't say there won't be fiery arrows--but they will come to nothing!

H) Verse 17: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
We are to dwell and meditate on what Jesus has accomplished for us in His great work of deliverance on the cross--that's our helmet of salvation! Meditation in the Bible also includes speaking God's Word out loud. When you speak out loud what God is saying to you specifically in your situation, it cuts away the lies of the enemy!

I) Verse 18: 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 saints.
God doesn't want us to keep quiet in the evil day--begin to pray as the Spirit leads you! Prayer is always a spiritual posture for receiving--let's receive God's answers for our situations!