100 Days of Right Believing: Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing (24 page)

Y
esterday we read about how God has provided us with the spiritual armor of truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace. Let’s continue today with the rest of the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. As we said yesterday, each piece of God’s armor is actually a weapon of right believing by which we experience His victory over the devil’s mind games. Today let’s look first at the piece of armor the Bible calls
the shield of faith
with which to defend yourself and stand strong when the enemy comes against you with thoughts of fear, doubt, and confusion.

In apostle Paul’s time, a shield referred to the huge shield that was used by the Romans, which was as big as a door! See your faith as a mighty shield and picture this—as long as your shield of faith is up, you are untouchable. No matter how many fiery darts the devil may pitch at you, ALL of them shall be quenched. Too many Christians are taking up the shield of doubt and quenching the blessings of God instead. Don’t let that be you—
face your future with boldness with the mighty shield of faith
.

Another area the devil likes to attack in your mind is the area of your salvation. When you come under attack, apart from the shield of faith, be sure to have on the helmet of salvation. The word “salvation” comes from a beautiful Greek word
soteria
, which definitely includes eternal life, but is an all-encompassing word that means deliverance (from your enemies, diseases, depression, fears, and all evils), preservation, safety, and salvation.
³
So put on the helmet of salvation by meditating on Jesus, and be filled with God’s
wholeness, protection, healing, and soundness. Let His
soteria
insulate your mind against the enemy’s lies.

Lastly, you have also been equipped with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Wield the sword of the Spirit by praying in the Spirit and speaking out God’s “now word” into your situation. Declare His promises and the truth of His grace over yourself and your circumstances to guard your heart against thoughts of hopelessness, despair and fear.

My friend, the whole armor of God has everything to do with what you believe in Christ. When you believe rightly about His grace and His finished work, every evil strategy the enemy has against you will surely fail. So be strong in the Lord’s love for you. Believe that God is for you and not against you. His truth, His righteousness, His faith, His gospel, His salvation, His Word, and His Spirit are all weapons of right believing to overcome all the devil’s attacks.

T
he devil doesn’t want you to be strong in the Lord’s love for you. Instead, he wants you to question God’s love for you. To accomplish this, one of his key strategies is to try to make you think that God is mad at you.

God’s Word tells us that the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking
whom he may devour. This means that he cannot just devour anyone. He must look for those whom he
can
devour. Some of us are “
undevourable
.” There may not be such a word, but it certainly describes a great place to be when the enemy is on the prowl for his next victim.

My friend, you can become “undevourable” to the devil. The secret is found in the preceding verse, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). Can you see it? The secret to being “undevourable” is to be carefree and not be bogged down by anxieties and worries! It is to laugh a lot, enjoy your life, and to take no thought for tomorrow.

To the legalistic mind, this sounds terribly irresponsible. However, in God’s mind, your greatest responsibility is to rejoice in the Lord always and to not worry about your past failures, your present circumstances, and your future challenges! Why? It’s because of what God’s grace has already done for you. And it’s because the One who has the power over death is caring for you and watching over you right this minute.

If you want to see victory over the enemy’s attacks, then learn to relax, to let go, and to release every oppressive thought, worry, and care into Jesus’ loving hands. Believe with all your heart that He cares for you and that you are not alone in this journey. You have a constant companion in Jesus on this great adventure called life.

Note that the devil walks about
like
a roaring lion. The devil is an impostor who tries to intimidate you through the impression that God is angry
with you. Let’s be clear here: there is only one true lion and that is the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ (see Rev. 5:5), the King of kings, and He is
not
mad at you today. His wrath is directed at anything that seeks to destroy you. You are not the object of His wrath; you are the object of His love. So be strong in His love for you. That’s how you resist the devil who will have no choice but to flee from you!