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. 

Introduction 

The book of Ephesians is a wonderful letter that reveals the Deity of Christ and provides practical ways to live our Faith daily.  I encourage you to study Ephesians in depth.  What piques my interest as well is the ending.  It is as if the Apostle Paul tells us that while we reap the benefits of living a life that honors Christ, we must be aware completely that our enemy, the devil, will fight back!  The devil is out to kill and destroy us and to rob us of the joy of serving Jesus.  So, we must not be surprised with bad things happen to good people, especially good people like you and me.   

So, just how are we to respond when life knocks us down?  What can we do when we are attacked by illness, natural disasters, betrayal by a loved one, and by the evil actions of others?  Ephesians 6:10-12 provides us with a directive and a strategy.  The primary directive is found in verse ten, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”   

When life knocks you down you must be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  This truth will change your life as it will provide you with a new view of your difficult and takes your focus off your problems and onto Jesus Christ, the Solution to your problems.  Jesus is the Answer and it is in Him where we find refuge.  

We are given then a practical guide that teaches us to put the primary directive into action.  I call this, “The Apostle Paul’s Strategy to Winning Life’s Battles.”  Paul’s strategy equips us with ten specific responses that glorify the Lord and lead us to victory.  I call these responses, “Victory Actions.”  I believe that if we embrace this strategy and implement it in our lives daily then we will “fight the good fight,” we will overcome the evil one, and we will finish well the race set before us. 

Put on the Armor of God 

The Apostle Paul’s strategy to winning life’s battles begins with Victory Action #1: Put on the Armor of God.  Ephesians 6:11-12 tell us why we must wear the armor of God: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.” 

We are in the middle of a daily spiritual battle of cosmic proportion that has eternal consequences.  As I mentioned earlier, the devil wants you to fall short of being the person that God created you to be, to make bad decisions, and to live a self-centered life.  In doing so, he will steal from you God’s joy and replace it with heartache and pain.  He will do everything that he can to hurt you and, in doing so, to hurt the One who loves you most: God.   

Bad things do happen to good people.  The questions are then: how are we to respond when life knocks us down?  How do we find victory when all we see around us is impending defeat? 

You must recognize immediately that you cannot defeat your spiritual enemy on your own.  Your acts of good will, giving to charities, self-denial, repetition of prayers, and such will fall short ultimately of defeating the enemy and has no lasting value.  The problem with such responses is that it makes you self-focused and will not lead you to the One who brings victory.  Instead, you must remember our primary directive and that is in Ephesians 6:10, “… be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”   

When you put on the armor of God then you are engaging the enemy in the strength and power of God instead of trying to win with your strength and power.  Put on the armor of God.  Play by His rules.  Live by His strength.  Respond to life’s issues by His power.   

There are many excellent reasons why we should wear the armor of God when we deal with life’s daily battles.  Let’s consider three reasons. 

First, you should put on the armor of God because God’s armor wins all spiritual battles.  You know full and well that Jesus Christ conquered sin by His death on the cross and that He conquered death by His resurrection on the third day.  There is no power greater than Jesus Christ.  He rules and reigns forever!  It’s like this … when you are wearing the full armor of God then you are wearing the jersey with the word “VICTORY!” written on the front.  The devil’s only hope of defeating you is for you to throw off that jersey and fight him on his terms and according to his rules.  It is because of what Jesus did for you that you are no longer forced to stoop to the enemy’s level.  Instead, all you have to do is to wear the full armor of God and stand firm.  God will fight your battle for you! 

Second, you should put on the armor of God because God’s armor exposes the devil’s true identity.  It is interesting to me that you can be in the deepest, darkness cave in the world and be completely disoriented and lost.  But, the moment that you shine a light, no matter how small that light may be, hope returns and you can discover how you relate to your surroundings.  Light changes everything!  Jesus is the Light of the world.  When you focus on Him, you life has meaning and purpose. 

There are times in our lives when life’s issues knock us down.  In those moments hope evaporates, lies told you seemed viable, and you felt isolated and exposed.  But, if you will focus on Jesus then you will view your life in a completely different way.  You will see that Jesus is still in control.  As you then put on the full armor of God and encounter the enemy in God’s strength then you will discover the identity of the devil.  He is a thief and a liar.  When you stand firm against him in this manner then you will discover that the words of James 4:7are true: “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Submission is putting on the full armor of God.  Standing firm is resisting the devil.  The evil one then will be exposed and he will run away! 

Third, you should put on the armor of God because wearing God’s armor shows that you love God more than life itself.  When you wear the full armor of God you declare that you are on God’s side and that you will stand firm regardless of the outcome.  In Acts 5 we read of how Peter and the other apostles were arrested in Jerusalem for preaching about Jesus and healing the sick.  During the night an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors.  The apostles returned to the temple courts to teach the people about Jesus.  The religious leaders in Jerusalem were jealous and tried to intimidate them.  The apostles stood firm against the opposition and declared, “We must obey God rather than men!”  The religious leaders were furious and threatened them with death.  The apostles left the meeting “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41).  When you love God more than life itself then you are standing firm against the evil one and you are on the road to victory.   

Prayer 

Dear Lord, thank you for winning the victory over sin and death.   Your death and resurrection gives me life.  Please help me to wear your armor so that I can win the battles in life and honor you.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

For You to Consider 

1. List three life battles you encountered as an example of the spiritual battles we face.
2. Choose an example of a life battle and contrast how the world says you should respond with the way that the Bible says you should respond.
3. What happens to you if you try to win life’s battles without wearing the armor of God?
4. How would your life be different if you walked in light of the victory Christ won when He defeated sin with His death and resurrection?
5. What keeps you from wearing the armor of God and what must you do to eliminate, or delete, it from your life?