Paul uses the word stand four times in the Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6:
- Take your stand against the devil’s schemes
- Stand your ground
- Stand
- Stand firm
We can almost imagine a four-star general barking, “Stand your ground!” orders to the troops, or a coach yelling to players on the field, “Stand firm!”
Both the athlete and the soldier are trained in the ready stance: knees slightly bent, tight core, weight evenly divided and senses engaged and ready to move. A good leader utilizes practices, drills, and repetition to train soldiers and players to stand.
If we are to stand as followers of Christ in the Army of God, we must know:
- Who we stand AGAINST: the devil
- What we stand BEHIND: the truth
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
When the Christian soldier suits up in her armor, the first element she puts on is the belt. (In Bible times, it may have been called a girdle.) Placed around the waist, it kept everything else strapped on and accessible when needed. Just like putting on that belt, choosing to take our stand for the truth is a daily choice.
The evil one is a liar and a deceiver. He persuaded Eve to commit the first sin by convincing her to believe a lie. Down through the ages, he has continued to use that same ploy. Has he ever whispered a lie in your ear? Perhaps something like:
- God could never forgive you for that.
- If your friends knew about that incident from your past, they would reject you.
- Your ideas are brilliant –why haven’t you been tapped for leadership?
- Your husband has lost interest in you and your marriage.
- Your kids don’t appreciate you.
- Prayer is a total waste of time.
- You are a star employee, so you deserve this indulgence.
- No one is perfect and no one will know, so just go ahead.
Maybe it’s not those lies, but others. Make no mistake, the enemy delights in telling lies and in getting you to believe them. If he can do that, he breaks your ready stance. He distracts you from the truth. He renders you vulnerable and ineffective for battle.
The late Tim Keller did a great job categorizing those lies as either a temptation or an accusation.
The evil one wants us to either think more highly of ourselves than we should, or much less of ourselves than God thinks of us.
You are His beloved child.
Christ died for you.
We cheapen God’s grace when we see it as a license to indulge our sin … but we discount His sacrifice when we focus on that sin, rather than His atoning death on the cross.
We are both more sinful than we want to believe, and more loved than we dare hope.
How do we refute the lie? By saturating ourselves in the truth. Are you standing firm on the truth today? Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is yet to come. Immerse yourself in the truth today. Protect yourself from the lies of the enemy by choosing to believe what God says.
His words are found in His Word. Read it, write it, and walk in it today.
We must be ready to stand.
In this week’s devotional video, Laura welcomes her dear friend Brenda, who shares insight from John 4:24: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. We invite you to listen in on their conversation about this verse, which teaches us the importance of having a heart filled by God and the Spirit living inside you!
