Armor Up for Eternity. By Sophia Archer.
On September 2 of this year, I started a bible study about the armor of God. Ephesians 6:12 has been put before me in the past few years many, many times. It states,
“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
I was excited to begin this study so that I could reinforce my knowledge of the Word and strap on every single piece of protection Our Father gives us from head to toe. Christians know that the devil lurks here among us and the battles that the evil one wages are both big and small. I did not know when I started this study that giant battles would erupt in just days.
One Saturday morning I woke up to a text message that a person who had I shared a close relationship with had died overnight due to complications from an unplanned, but necessary surgery. “56 is too young,” I thought. He knew our Lord, so I prayed for comfort for those of us who lost this brother.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” as spoken in Matthew 5:4.
Late in the evening, the following day, a call came through from a family member, beginning with, “Are you sitting down? Is there someone home with you?” The shocking news delivered that day was that my cousin had committed suicide. She left behind a husband and three young children. The “whys” and the “hows” blasted in echoing accusations. Many questions without answers banged through my head. I could not dry the flood of tears that fell. “45 is way too young!” She knew our Lord.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,” is the promise of 1 John 5:13.
I was grieving for an old friend, and a dear cousin. Both losses sudden and seemingly so senseless. I was reading the Word relentlessly and the heavier my belt of truth, the lighter my burden. I meditated continually on Proverbs 3:5-6,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
I still did not understand, but I was finding peace and comfort was within my grasp. Then…the prince of darkness lanced his last blow. Charlie Kirk, a son of Our King, a husband, a father, a truth teller, a patriot, and a soldier for Jesus, was assassinated before the eyes of us all. Millions cried aloud at the news that evil had stolen this young man from us. “31! 31! My God, that is too young!” More “hows?” More “whys?” More disbelief, denial. Tears. Tears so many.
But did the enemy steal him from us? A psalmist spoke in Psalm 139:16,
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
They were written in His book. Not satan’s. He does not win. I am not afraid of him. A very important person in my life calls him a loser, and he is a loser, and he knows it.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” -Matthew 10:28.
I will strap on my armor every single day, I will pray, and I will not forget,
“You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked,” -Psalm 97:10.
He gives us our voice, He gives us our feelings, and He is our strength to rely on as we steward His truth in this fallen world. We will not be shaken.
Circuit Rider Music “I will follow Jesus/Lace up Your Boots!”
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