Self-Defense

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV)

I carry a knife in my purse and everywhere with me.  I feel like, you never can be too safe these days.  I’m always the big talker in my group about who I’ll cut and how quickly I’ll cut him.  So, I was shopping in a store a few weeks back and in my own world.  In my completely oblivious state, I didn’t notice that there was a strange man watching my every move.  Thankfully, the holy spirit stepped in and made me aware of the fact that I was being followed.  I began to walk in a very purposeful pattern around the store to ensure that it wasn’t my imagination…nope, I was being followed.  Big bad wolfess was gone and fear set in.  First I called my sister, then my boyfriend, then my sister again and I was looking for my knife and it wasn’t in my purse!  I was unarmed, alone and quickly allowing panic to settle into my spirit.  By the time I found an associate to let him know I was being followed all I could do was burst into tears, especially after he told me he’d seen the guy following me!  I was stuck in the middle of the store, a complete emotional wreck.  I had the “damsel in distress” thing going big time!

We should never be caught off guard without our weapons!  Not a weapon in the flesh, but our spiritual weapons.  Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the FULL armor of God daily.  We are always at war because we are not of this world.  If your spirit man is where it should be, then he is always ready for battle.  There are so many temptations in the world that we have no choice but to operate in the spirit and be led of the spirit if we want to get through.  Our minds are the arena for faith and satan is the enemy of our souls.  If we’re not covered satan is most definitely going to plant seeds within that arena and pretty soon you are full of fear, doubt and self destruction bondage.  I’m not saying that you need to carry a bible wherever you go to ward anything off, but know the word and meditate on it so that when things come against you, you are able to stand on the promises of God to rebuke, bind down and destroy satan’s evil yokes.  Isiah 54:17 says that NO weapon formed against thee shall prosper!  Romans 8:31 says if God is for us [then], who can be against us!  We, as spirit filled believers who are truly walking in faith, need to have the ability to call on God’s word in an urgent manner and speak to any pressing situation.  If we’re not prepared for battle, it could cost you your life…think about that!  How many enemies do you have that would stop and give you time to get your sword out and sharpen it in the middle of a battle?  In the same sense, how often are you able to stop an emergent situation so you can pull out your bible to find the right words?  It’s time to meditate, to study and to really get to know God’s word.  The last thing we want to do is be caught out there in the world without our armor and not ready for battle!