Since October, our family has been doing quite a bit of driving. We moved from Alaska to North Carolina, did some visiting with family along the way, and have enjoyed visiting with family since settling in. We are loving the ability to pop down to Georgia during a school break to spend time with cousins, spend the weekend on the border of North Carolina and Virginia with other cousins, and we’re especially glad to be in a closer proximity to grandparents and other family up north. Like I said, we’ve been doing a bit of driving.
As the navigator, my job includes directions as well as keeping my husband (the usual driver) awake. Typically, if I can get him talking about a subject that he’s knowledgeable and excited about, then he’ll be good for several hours. Sometimes I’ll bring about the topic of our shared faith, sometimes the economic forecast, sometimes investment options, and sometimes our hopes for the future. Then there are times that my husband is driving and looks to be lost in thought. Those are the times that I wish I could read his mind; know what he’s thinking about. I ask and he’ll walk through the rabbit-trails of his thought process aloud and I find it more humorous than enlightening – most of the time.
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
The Sword of Truth, the final piece of the armor, is so much more than typically assumed. As a child, I used to picture holding the Bible and hitting demons with it. A physical object hitting a spiritual being. Obviously, I was wrong in my thought process. Yes, the Word is the Bible – the Word of God or God’s Word. But I still pictured Bible-beatings.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-2 &14 (NIV)
Interesting and exciting that, again, another piece of armor is Jesus. What I also find interesting and exciting is the translation. Throughout the Bible, “logos” and “rhema” are translated into “word.” There is a significant difference, though between the two Greek words.. “Logos” is translated as “written word” while “rhema” means “spoken word.” When we’re told to take the Sword of the Spirit, the Greek word used is “rhema.” The spoken word of God… another passage (there are about 73 times in the KJV New Testament where “rhema” is used) is found in Isaiah:
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word (rhema – the spoken word) of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)
The spoken Word of God stands forever… Jesus stands forever… that sounds like the ultimate sword. The key is that the Word is spoken. Just like I cannot read my husband’s thoughts, the enemy can’t read our thoughts. We may have scripture being recited in our mind on repeat, but the power comes from speaking them. Not speaking is like having our sword in its sheath. It can be powerful, but until we wield it, our sword doesn’t do much good.
I mentioned in my last post, Head in the Game, that we need to be mindful of what we feed our mind. If we allow garbage in, then we will start spewing garbage out. Listening to foul language will result in foul language coming out of my mouth. The Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit are mentioned together very purposefully. Our minds are susceptible to fatal blows, which is why it is so important to know who we are according to God. I say it all the time, which probably is getting a little old to those who are regular readers, but the truth is that we are the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:21). This is the truth of our very identity. If this has not become real in our head and our heart, how easy it is for the devil to deceive us!
With the helmet protecting our control panel, keeping the garbage of the world at bay, we will be well-positioned to have God’s Word become much more – it will be the rhema of God. We won’t just be thinking or reading scriptures of Truth, but we’ll be prepared to speak the Word of God. As I mentioned before, I’m not able to read my husband’s thoughts (thankfully), and the devil also can’t read ours. We stand in victory when we speak the Truth into the darkness.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
At the beginning of my last post, I started out with that oh-so-scary scenario: getting news that brings us to our knees. Whether it be something to do with our health, the well-being of a loved one, financial, or relational (or any other scenario that the enemy can use to cause heartache and stress). Sometimes he throws our failures in our face to show us how “unworthy” of God’s love we are – and sometimes we assume responsibility for someone else’s shortcomings (parents do a lot of that, right?). What if we, instead of flipping out with worst-case-scenarios, why don’t we immediately start speaking God’s Truths?
When the doctor gives you bad news, why do we tend to take it as the “gospel truth”? Sure, we may decide to get a second opinion, maybe even a third opinion, but what about God’s opinion? Do we seek out what He says about our health (I Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5)? What about relational hardships? Do we trust what He says about raising our children (Proverbs 22:6)? What about our finances (Deuteronomy 28:1-13)? All of the battles we face have been fought with victory as the outcome! As we become more and more familiar with our identity – children of God, co-heirs with Christ, chosen in the beloved and so many others – we will become more and more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge to pray in the middle of the night, at random moments in the grocery store, or as we’re washing dishes (soapy spatula and movie line possibly included), we’ll pray without hesitation. By doing so, we’re in the middle of a battle – and as we wield our sword in our prayers, we’re going to find that we’re able to stand firmly in victory.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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 6:10-13 (NIV)
When I first started learning about the armor of God, I was just a kiddo – it was either Sunday School or Vacation Bible School – and I remember a lot of singing that went with it. There was one about being in the Lord’s Army (Yes, Sir!) and another that comes to mind had to do with standing on the promises of God. Part of standing on the promises of God is getting to know what they are… and I’ve only mentioned a few. That song, “Standing on the Promises”, (a hymn written by Russell Kelso Carter) makes it clear that as we’re standing on God’s promises, we’re actually resting in Him and tuned in to the Spirit’s voice.
Just a few of the lines from the different verses include: “standing in the liberty where Christ makes me free,” “overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,” and “by the living Word of God I shall prevail.”
When we have the armor in place, understanding that it’s all available because of Jesus’ sacrifice (John 3:16-17), essentially making every piece of armor Jesus, we are able to stand firm. And after we have been able to stand firm and fight, we’re able to stand victoriously. We’re able to stand on God’s promises just like the hymn expresses. We overcome – daily – with the Spirit’s sword… and by the living Word of God we prevail.
Jesus didn’t just die on the cross so that we’d be saved from an eternity in hell, forever separated from our Creator and Lord, but He went beyond all that we could ever hope for, ask for, or even imagine: God provided everything we need to experience victory NOW. He provided His One and only Son for us to rest in. Let’s suit up with the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit – Let’s suit up with Jesus. He is the promise we stand on – He is our victory.