Be Trained for Battle Before the War Begins

It happens quite often that Christians find themselves spiritually unprepared when trials come their way. The war begins, and suddenly the good Christian finds themself overwhelmed and having a great deal of difficulty hearing the voice of God or understanding His direction. Their sword is dull, their shield is dry, and so on. It's not a good place to be. The positive part is that with a renewed focus on God, they can still make it through the dangerous battle grounds and find new strength and help in the Lord. The sad part is that they could have already been strong in the Lord when the war began, and they could have been busy fighting the enemy and making ground, instead of feeling panic and confusion when fiery darts started flying their direction.

So, while your days are going by swimmingly, don't take for granted that you are not currently facing troubles or attacks. Battles come to everyone, and God has already given you the knowledge and training you need in the Bible. It would behoove us all to dig in now, and prepare ourselves for battle before the war begins. Ephesians 6:13 tells us, "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." Go ahead and put on the full armor of God and understand what that means, because today is the time to be ready. Today is the time to fully understand the power you have in God to overcome Satan's schemes against you.

The verses in Ephesians about the armor of God are incredibly powerful, insightful, and necessary to every Christian's walk. I know you have heard them before, but I strongly encourage you to delve in and study them. You will be greatly blessed and you will become a much stronger soldier as you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth and power in this Scripture directly to you.

Ephesians 6:10-18
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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

If you would like to watch an in-depth video recording on this Scripture, visit Cornerstone Church's message on The Full Armor of God. I found it very enlightening and helpful! You are, of course, welcome to watch the beginning of the video, but if you want to move ahead to the actual message, move the "time slider thingy" :) to 31:00.