Monday, June 1, 2009

Ephesians 6:13 -- On Withstanding the Evil Day

"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:13


This is interesting in part because it tells us the “evil day” is coming. I think we’ve probably seen a few already, but we know there are more to come. And maybe one big one. Either way, those are the kinds of days that knock us over if they can. Because we are on this earth to be tested and to actually learn something, the Lord can't just take away the evil day, and he can’t just give us all the answers. He can, however, teach us a different way of seeing... help us to put everything in its proper eternal context... and he can give us some protection from the storms and darknesses that we will certainly have to weather. The armour of God isn’t so much physical protection as it is spiritual… so that, even if our bodies get knocked over by the evil day, our souls will be able to stand and weather the storm. God doesn’t ask us to do things like pray and read our scriptures and attend our church meetings for him. He doesn’t need our subjection or our obedience. We do. These are the things that will strengthen and protect *us* from the storms of life. He can't take away our challenges, just as any parent can't spare her child the pain of growing up. But he can smooth the path, and offer advice, and lead the way... which he has done. Now, it is up to us whether to learn things the easy way or the hard way. :) ... Listening to God and doing as he asks can spare us a lot of pain and anguish. When the evil day comes, we want to be ready to face it… with God’s help. Today, let’s work on strengthening ourselves spiritually, and facing and resolving any communication problems we’re having with God.

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