Affirmation Bible Reading: Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour 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 armour 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Did you know that the Devil schemes against you daily? He studies your tendencies (current and historical), analysis your personality, delves into your relationships, plots against you and takes advantage of your weaknesses; in order to work out the best way to throw you off course. Worse still, he does the same to your friends and family members, in order to find weak spots that he can use to cause division. Do not allow Satan to ride rough shod over you. You were chosen and adopted by the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
We need to remember that every part of our lives is being shaken up by this invisible enemy, constantly at work trying to mess things up for us. Satan is banking on the fact that because he is invisible, we will forget he is there influencing the difficult situations in our lives. He wants us to end up blaming the wrong things and forget to live our lives in a manner worthy of the Lord.
The great news is that God has provided you with armour for your protection. Weapons that really work against the devil and his schemes. The belt of truth, which you should put on first because it holds all the other pieces in place. If you want success, you need to be committed to the truth of God. The breastplate of righteousness always reminds you to do what is right in God’s sight. You need something for your feet if you have any hope of moving forward successfully, so you are given the gospel of peace to wear on your feet. The evil one is constantly firing missiles into your path and therefore you will need the shield of faith. Strongholds of lies and deceit will try and get into your mind and so you will need a helmet to protect your mind and it will be your salvation. You will need a sword so that when the enemy is all up in your space, you have something close at hand to keep him at bay and that will be the Word of God. Finally, if you want victory, then you need to pray because prayer pushes the kingdom of darkness back and unlocks the resources of heaven so that they can be unleashed on earth. Don’t forget, you have an invisible, but mighty force of angels at your disposal 24/7. Your own private army, under God’s command!
Meditate on: 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land.”
Breathe exercise: Resonant Breathing
This breathing exercise helps to calm anxiety and get you to a relaxed state
- Lie down with your eyes closed
- Close your mouth and breathe in gently through your nose for six seconds, without filling your lungs with too much air.
- Now breathe out through your nose for six seconds. Allow the breath to leave your body slowly and gently.
- Do this breathing exercise for 10 minutes.
Food for thought: Have you ever visited a games arcade? One of the games you will encounter is called Whac-A-Mole. This involves scoring a point every time you whack the plastic mole on the head as it pops out of a hole. No matter how many times you whack these moles, they keep popping up until the game is over. The problem is, that every time you miss whacking a mole before it disappears, you lose a point. Underneath the surface of the game, is an invisible mechanism, which operates the moles and randomly decides which mole will pop up and disappear next. You take your frustration out on the thing that you can see, which is the plastic mole and you whack it on the head, but it is actually the invisible mechanism that is causing you problems. The same applies to life. It is not what you can see (your friend, the government, a teacher, your child, money) that is causing your problems. It is the invisible puppeteer. So rely on God to help you expose Satan and his schemes and use weapons that can actually stop him from popping up again and again in your weak spots. Put on the armour of God, so that the Devil and his minions can’t get to those weak spots.
Pray: Dear Lord, I need your supernatural power to stand strong against the evil one and not to fall into temptation. Help me not to be sidetracked, discouraged or to take my eyes off you. I am tired and weak, you are strong, Lord, and you are my only source of help. Your armour protects me. Teach me how to pray and to trust you to pull down those strongholds that keep me or others helpless. You destroyed the power of this invisible enemy when you died on the cross for me. Remind me daily that your powerful spirit is within me and therefore, I already have the victory. Amen!
Remember: Be the kind of Christian that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says; “Oh no, she or he is up!”
