oh those flaming arrows...

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

{Ephesians 6:10-17}

How many times have I read devotions, heard sermons, and participated in Bible studies devoted to this passage? An even better question is, how did I not get the enormity of what it really means to put on the  armor of God?

This week in Little Rock with Jon's family, we have had the privilege of attending revival at Friendly Chapel Church of the Nazarene. Rick Rigsby preached. He is an evangelist that Jon and I both remember from various youth events. The last time I heard Rick speak was the summer before my senior year of high school...I had wrecked my sister's car the day before we left for camp...I was in a very low place. Rick preached about the storms of life, and how God uses those storms to shape our character and will never desert us. That week of camp, God used His words as a healing balm to my soul through Rick.

This past week, Jon and I felt that God used Rick (and his beautiful wife, Janet) in that exact same way - to begin the healing process from such a difficult year. He spoke on what it really meant to "stand strong" and to "put on the full armor of God". I really wish Jon and I had read Eph. 6:10-17 everyday before we dealt with the boys. I wonder how different our attitudes would have been.

The part of Rick's teaching that really got to me was when he focused on verse 16. When talking about the shield of faith that would "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one", I looked at Jon and said, "Isn't that just what it was like? Flaming arrows darting at us at all hours of the day?" He agreed. We also made the observation that whenever one of us was down, or losing our grip on our own shield of faith, the other would use their shield to cover us both. We were in big trouble when we both were down, because the evil one was winning.


"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."

Never in my life has this resonated with my soul as much as it does now...I will always regret not being in God's Word more and putting Biblical truth with the spiritual truth I was experiencing.

The good news is that everyday is a new day.

Much love,

Emily Elizabeth