During the last seven devotionals, we looked at how to stand believing for our promises by putting on each piece of God’s armor. The armor is necessary to win against the deceiver. Knowing what the armor is and activating it in your life, guards the abundant life you have in Christ.
It is God’s righteousness that empowers us to willfully choose the armor. God doesn’t dress us. We allow His power to dress us for victory. You want abundant life? You have to stand and fight the good fight of faith.
To fight the good fight of faith, you have to deliberately choose to put on the armor of God. The Word of God is your Truth to stand praying and believing for your promise. The righteousness that Christ has given you guards your heart against the enemy’s lies and gives you the authority to crush his tactics. When you allow the gospel of peace to claim your mind and heart, faith rises from within to shield you against the fiery darts of the wicked one. The helmet of salvation guards your mind against the lies of the enemy. The sword of the Spirit—the spoken Word of God—is your weapon to declare Truth and defeat the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life Jesus has for you.
Notice that the first piece of armor is the Truth of the Word and the last piece is the spoken Word of God. The Word is all Truth, and when it is spoken, it has the power to crush strongholds and bring forth life. All the other pieces of armor help you to stand strong and speak the Truth of God’s Word with His authority. And when you put on all the armor and speak the Word of God, you defeat the enemy.
You fight against the enemy—not people. He comes against your faith and brings the battle to your mind. You will face discouragement very quickly if you aren’t equipped to fight your battle. When you start to believe God’s Truth for something, that is when your battle begins. You don’t just stand against the enemy one time. You stand against him again and again and again. Standing builds your faith to receive your promise.
God’s Word of Truth overcomes everything. No weapon shall prevail against it. You shall condemn anything that comes against His Truth in your life. This is your heritage. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
When you look at yourself through your own eyes, it is hard to see Christ’s righteousness. You only see the imperfection of your humanness. But when you keep looking into your heart with the Truth of the righteousness He has given you, things change. His breastplate of righteousness guards you. Stay focused on who Christ has made you, and rebuke the lies of the enemy.
You fight the good fight of faith when you forgive as Christ has forgiven you. When you are living in God’s peace, you are standing on His Truth that you are at peace with Him and with yourself and with others. You believe your worthiness in Christ and that you are forgiven, and you forgive others as Christ has forgiven you.
For the shield of faith to be effective, you must be fully convinced that it will quench the fiery darts aimed at your mind and heart by the wicked one. Each one of us has a measure of faith. Your faith in Christ will make you an overcomer. Hang on to your faith. When you are in a battle, your faith is what is tested. The enemy is trying to make you give up on your faith and what you believe. He wants you to say “believing and praying for my promise doesn’t work for me.” But faith does work for you!
When you fight the good fight of faith, you put the Truth of your salvation on like a helmet to protect your thoughts. God’s Truth then continually renews your mind. When your mind is renewed by Truth instead of the enemy’s lies, the incorruptible seed of the Word, which is planted in your heart, grows and produces unshakeable faith that your promise is already yours.
When you are in a battle, your emotions get out of control, and your understanding is compromised. You have to consciously put on the helmet of salvation. When you have the Truth of His righteousness convincing you, you experience His peace and His wisdom. Consciously review again and again in your mind who you are in Christ.
Your weapon against the deception of the enemy is the sword of the Spirit—the spoken Word of God. You battle successfully in warfare by agreeing with God’s Truth and speaking it instead of speaking any lie of the enemy.
You have the authority given to you by Christ to defeat all the wiles of the wicked one. But God doesn’t speak His Truth in you. You exercise and employ the sword of the Spirit. You put on the Word of God and speak it. It is living and breathing and powerful. Believe His Truth and don’t doubt the authority you have in Him. Refute all the lies of the enemy and the imagery he tries to plant in your mind. Speak death to your mountain and life to your promise.
And when you pray? “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18, NLT).
Fight the good fight of faith. Put on the full armor of God.
© 2021 Lynn Lacher
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