Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18
10 God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
13-18Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Thought for Today: I’ve got a few pet peeves. Probably more than a few truth be told. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone says, “God will never give me more than I can handle.” Says who? It’s not in the Bible anywhere, so who decided that God will never give us more than we can handle?
There are people all over the world lying in hospital beds that are facing more than they can handle. There are millions of people dying from the unsafe water sources they must rely on. There are more people alive right now that are dealing with more than they can handle than the total population combined just a generation or two ago.
Try telling an abused child that God will never give you more than you handle. Tell a mother whose baby just died that God will never give her more than she can handle and I bet she won’t give you a smile back.
The promise of God is not that we will never be given more than we can handle. Watching my beloved husband die one day at a time for 365 days from terminal brain cancer was more than I could handle…. Alone.
God’s promise is that He will help us handle whatever life gives us. Ephesians 6:13 tells us exactly what life will give us. “13Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own.”
The enemy spends endless energy trying to give us more than we can handle and his greatest desire is that we blame God when we get too much. “Why did God do this to me?” God didn’t do it to you. The enemy is doing it to you so you will turn your back on the one true God. We are also told what to do when life gives us too much. We are to be prepared, we are to, “Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life.”
Where are we to find these tools? “God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.” The Bible is where we find the strength God is offering to us to make it through this earthly life. Life is hard, God is good.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, Thank you for the weapons that You offer to us for our battles in this life. We ask that you nudge us every day to spend time in Your word that we may learn how to apply Your armor and be prepared to enter the battle. In Jesus’ name…. Amen
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