Remembering the Armor

Ephesians 6:10-13 (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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.

My extended family faced a few very hard trials during the last few months of 2024. As I faced the pain of each different circumstance, I often felt so defeated and overwhelmed. I started to believe the lies of the enemy and fall into his devious traps and it would trip me up. I’m so thankful for God’s grace & mercy and that I am held tightly in His grasp and He does not let me fall far when I stumble.

One morning I had planned to continue reading some of the Psalms for encouragement. David’s heart gives me comfort since many of the Psalms are written by David and are written from a broken heart, lamenting, but then turning to praise The Father. His writings let me know that I am not alone in my hurting and frustration. Anyway, when I opened up the Bible App on my phone it opened to Ephesians instead of where I left off in Psalms. I decided that maybe I needed to read Ephesians instead. I’m so glad I did! I realized that even though I wrote the children’s book Armor of God, therefore reading Ephesians 6:10-18 over and over for both research for writing and reading the book to various groups of children, I *still* have not mastered putting on the armor every day. I was leaving myself vulnerable and unprotected for the enemy to attack. I even have a mug that I designed that gives me a ‘checklist’ to make sure I have all the armor on and I still wasn’t doing it.

I have resolved this year to put on the full armor every day. I know that the enemy is still going to attack. I know that I will still have trials and hardships, pain and suffering. BUT I will be prepared with the FULL armor of God, ready to stand firm with the belt of Truth, helmet of salvation, feet fitted with the Gospel of peace, breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith and prayer – I will be ready to defend against evil schemes.

In the book that I wrote, I use simple explanations of what the armor pieces stand for so that even young children can understand. The book is available on my website https://www.angelagladden.com or through many booksellers. You can also request that your library order a copy to put into circulation.