ICS Daily Devotions
Putting on the Armor of God
Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
One of the favorite attacks against us is in the area of our right standing before God and the devil will always bring condemnation against us regarding the wrong that we have done. Nobody likes to feel condemned because we can hardly lift up our head towards people and God when we feel so awful about ourselves.
Job 9:1-2 (NKJV) Then Job answered and said: “Truly I know it is so, But how can a man be righteous before God?
Since Job lived during the time of the Patriarch or even earlier, Job knew that it was impossible to stand righteous before God based on his self-efforts. However, we now have the breastplate of righteousness that comes with the imputed righteousness upon our confession and belief in our heart that Jesus has saved us from our sins. The breastplate of righteousness protects our hearts against the fiery darts of the devil. We have a right standing before God because we are made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ. The full armor of God is now available to us, which was not available to Job then.
Job 10:2 (NKJV) I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me.
Job was not able to see any hope in his situation because he thought God was his adversary and condemned him. The prolonged suffering took a toll on his life and his perspective of God waned. In actual fact, it was the devil who struck him with boils, killed his children and stole all his herds. But Job was not aware of the devil’s existence or his works. However, we are now privileged to be able to read this with a clearer perspective.
We cannot fight the good fight of faith unless we know and are convinced that God is not our adversary but our helper.
We want to be stronger in the Lord when we exit on the other side of the crisis. We need to put on our full armor of God when we are in periods of suffering. Therefore, we need to put on the breastplate of righteousness by acknowledging that our right standing with God is based on the imputed righteousness when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are able to lift up the shield of faith because we believe that He is our advocate and the mediator of a better covenant. We have peace with God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We put on the helmet of Salvation when we have these truths in place. Once we have these truths in place then nobody is able to condemn us regardless whether it is the devil or people who are misinformed. We will not retreat into a corner. We will take up the sword of the Spirit to enforce the victory of Jesus Christ as a Christian! We take hold of the sword of the Spirit to say as it is written that nothing shall separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35). No tribulation be it COVID-19, the global economic crisis or any other crisis that brings about distress or lack because we are convinced that He is able to provide for us, He is our victory banner and our righteousness!
Sermon Series: Job and I
