The video on my Bible app left me confused.
Recently, the Bible app I use featured a study of the armor of God from Ephesians 6. Looking for new ways to keep my faith in Christ strong, I decided to follow along and watch the video series. Each day, a different speaker discussed a separate verse from the passage. It was a great study, but I floundered when I listened to the video about v. 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.”
Ephesians 6:13
“How do you put on the armor of God?” the speaker asked. “Why, you read your Bible. Reading your Bible will help you stand firm against the attacks of the Evil One.”
That sounds like circular reasoning, I thought. I’m reading my bible right now. I’m reading this verse that tells me to put on the armor of God. So how do I put on the armor of God? You’re telling me to read my Bible. So I’m reading my Bible. It says here . . .
How does reading the Bible make you stronger so you can face spiritual warfare?
I’m making this harder than it needs to be. The question the speaker didn’t have time to answer in a one-minute video was this: “HOW does the Bible help me be strong enough to stand up against spiritual warfare?” It made me think and figure it out on my own.
My Bible App video person was right. The Bible is more than a sourcebook of knowledge that helps you win at Bible Trivia or Bible quiz bowls. It has more purpose than the comfort of an emotional blanket and it is certainly far more than a rulebook for godly living. Knowing the content of the Bible will help you stand strong in your faith, so strong, your worst enemy can’t knock you down and crush your faith in God.
Preparing for war
Storytellers of history enchant their listeners with accounts of hard-fought wars, especially those stories of the apparently weaker side who attains victory against all odds. That’s because they have relied on other tactics beside sheer force of numbers. Entire books have been written about the art of warfare that tell us the importance of knowing your enemy, understanding what you are fighting for, creating a plan for attack, and strategizing how you will use available resources to advance and overcome the enemy.
Since Adam and Eve’s stay in the Garden of Eden, humanity has been caught between the goodness of God and the embodiment of evil. Satan has been trying to lure people over to his side and if he can’t lure them, he seeks to crush them and make them ineffective in advancing God’s kingdom agenda. If you believe in Jesus, the Bible assures you that you will attacked. Satan does NOT want you to enjoy Heaven.
But you don’t have to give into him, and you don’t have to fight him by yourself. Reading the Bible helps you be strong enough to combat spiritual warfare and come out victorious.
Here are 5 ways you can stay Bible strong when you face spiritual warfare.
The Bible acquaints you with the Commander in Chief.
We learn who God is: what He wants, what He is like and how He operates. The Bible tells us how the warfare between Him and Satan began, and what Satan has against Him. We see His heart and His love for His people. Becoming acquainted with God helps us understand the why behind His directives. Knowing his agenda gives us something worth fighting for.
The Bible helps you train effectively for engagement.
Troops train for months and years before they engage the enemy. In the same way, the Bible is our manual for how to train ourselves in righteous living. Leading holy righteous lives is not merely to make God happy with us. Being a follower of Jesus is far more involved than just obeying a bunch of laws that take away the fun parts of life. Dedicating ourselves to living the way God prescribes in Scripture makes us physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually stronger. When Satan does try to undermine our faith, we have certain entrenched spiritual habits that reinforce our refusal to capitulate to Satan’s evil ways.
The Bible explains essential strategies.
Righteous living is one way to diffuse the enemy’s attacks. Furthermore, the Bible gives us strategies we can use when Satan directly opposes us. It instructs us to be on our guard, pray, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and avoid loopholes that the enemy can use to wrangle his way into our lives. Knowing these principles keeps us ready and alert for the times when Satan tries to pick at our commitment to Christ.
The Bible gives us access to unlimited resources.
Reading the Bible is like walking through an armory and being able to choose anything at all that will help us do our job better. We find out all that God will do for us and what He’ll give us to make us properly prepared to engage the enemy. We have instant access to God through prayer. The Bible contains a huge cache of truth, all at our disposal when Satan counters our belief in God with his lies. God has given us the body armor of truth, righteousness, salvation, faith, and the gospel message of peace. As seen by Jesus’s example of using scripture to combat Satan’s temptations (Matthew 4), the Word of God itself is a resource we can use to fight back when Satan tries to trick us.
The Bible gives a preview of the outcome of the war.
Good news, the Bible says. The war has already been won. All that is left are the skirmishes to pick off the weak and unassuming. Knowing that my side has already won gives me so much confidence. When there is hope, there is confidence, courage, and renewed strength. The knowledge of the end and certain victory gives me a second wind to keep running the race and fighting the fight.
Have life events knocked you down? Do you feel like someone keeps trying to bash your spiritual commitment against a brick wall or wear you down so you will ultimately collapse in defeat? Do you face challenges and confrontations for which you don’t have ready answers or quick comebacks?
Yes, the words of the Bible will make you stronger, able to endure, and push back against any evil that would come against you.
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