JOIN USThere was a young lady named Terry who, in 1977, wanted to buy a Christmas gift for her husband. Her husband was a policeman. It was just September, so she had a few months left, but the gift she wanted to buy was too expensive.
She approached the shopkeeper and requested if she could pay in installments and clear the cost by December. A seasoned businessman that he was, he could trust the lady. He took the first installment and wrapped up the gift for her.
She was elated. And she walked out of the store that day with this wonderful present which she was so anxious to give to her husband.
In her anxiety and joy, she could not wait for Christmas, that very night itself she gave the gift to her husband David. Seeing the gift he was filled with joy and showered her with hugs and kisses.
A few weeks later David was working the night shift when he got a call on his police radio. A drugstore robbery was in process. Racing to the scene, he arrived just in time to observe the suspect getting into his car, and speeding away. Quickly, David switched on his siren and began the pursuit. Three blocks later the getaway vehicle suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.
A senior police officer informed Terry, “I am sorry that your husband David was shot in the chest and is being treated in the hospital. But the good news is he has only a small bruise. His life was saved because of the high impact bullet-proof jacket he was wearing.”
The bullet-proof jacket was the gift she had bought him.
The wicked attacks of the evil spirits against us are more dangerous than the physical violence around us. That’s why Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians urges us to put on the breastplate (like a bullet-proof jacket) of righteousness, meaning, being spiritually prepared.
Imagine a soldier getting fully dressed and not moving an inch.
Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Chapter 6) says: “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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Most interestingly, the Lord asks us to be dressed as a soldier but to just stand still, because the battle belongs to Him. Get dressed in Faith and put every fear into His hands.