“Come on, I’m desperate!” the cowboy pleaded!
I knew he was in bad shape and I did feel bad for him but there was no way I was giving him my horse!
It was a beautiful sunrise as we all unloaded our horses out of the trailer. The quiet stillness of daybreak was soothing to my soul. I was exactly where I belonged in life and soaked up the blessings all around me.
We were helping a friend move cows and calves back home from summer pasture. It was about a 20 mile journey. We all knew how long it would be before we agreed to go. Not to mention all the hills, draws and creeks we would have to cross before it was over.
When you’re moving cows with calves at side you need to let them take their time so you don’t run the weight off them. Yet you still have to keep urging them on, especially as the miles add up.
The hills were starting to wear the calves out by about mile 10. So it was taking quite a bit of convincing to keep them going. By about mile 15 an older cowboy, who had chosen to ride a 2 year old colt, was “out of horse”. This was way too long of a day for a young horse to try to tackle.
As we fought our way up and out of another draw the young horse just quit. He’d had enough and couldn’t go any farther. All the urging on in the world wasn’t changing his mind.
After quite a bit of effort, the cowboy climbed down and led the horse forward. The young horse reluctantly trudged along now that the extra weight was gone.
You’ve probably heard the saying “choose the right tool for the job”. I can tell you, a 2 year old colt for a 20 mile ride wasn’t the right tool for the job. He was young, immature and hadn’t had enough miles with a rider on his back to handle what that ride threw at him.
How many times do we do the same thing in our own lives? When a circumstance comes up our reaction is to try to tackle it in the natural. But we’re not fighting against flesh-and-blood. So choosing a natural reaction to our situations is choosing the wrong tool for the job.
God gave us the tools we need to stand firm in faith in Ephesians 6. We have to choose to pick them up and use them though. [Tweet “Armor, just like tools, only works if we put it to use.”]
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. Therefore 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. Ephesians 6:11-13
Belt of truth
We can stand firm knowing the truthfulness of God’s Word. It gives us confidence to stand up to the devil. We have truth on our side we don’t have to settle for believing the lies of the enemy. When the devil comes after us we can speak truth over the situation.
Breastplate of righteousness
The devil is going to come after us with everything he has, it’s just a fact. But we’re equipped and protected with the righteousness Christ has given us. So when the enemy slings lies at us we can stand up to his accusations. Jesus gave us the grace to overcome!
Your feet fitted with the gospel of peace.
The gospel gives us stability and protection as we do battle. We’re equipped to share the good news with others. When we’re serving in the Kingdom of God our focus is Kingdom work and not self serving.
Take up the shield of faith
Our faith is vital to take our stand against the enemy! With it we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. So as the fiery darts are being flung our way, our faith keeps our eyes on Jesus. Without Him the battle is lost.
Helmet of salvation
Our salvation is what gives us hope. I love the visual of putting our helmet of salvation on. It covers our mind which can lead us astray so easily. Yet the hope we experience because of it helps keep our mind focused on our eternal hope.
Sword of the Spirit
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. This is our only offensive weapon and it’s meant for hand to hand combat. This is why it’s so important to memorize scripture. When the devil is on the prowl we can go after him with the truth of God’s word.
We’re going to encounter difficult situations. It’s part of life. It’s important to know the right tools to use for those situations. The mighty tools God gives us help us to defeat the enemy! [Tweet “The devil isn’t harmless but he is defeated. He just doesn’t seem to know it yet.”]
Are there any pieces of God’s armor you struggle to put on? Let’s talk about it!
I’m sharing this post with several other blogger’s at these Faith Linkups. I encourage you to check them out. If this post resonates with you and feel it would help others please feel free to share. Easy to share buttons below. ~Laura~
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