Stand Firm and Get Ready to Fight

I had great intentions of writing a blog yesterday.  It was supposed to be an uplifting, motivating blog about Random Acts of Kindness and being thankful/grateful for the little things in your life.  Unfortunately, my plans didn't go as I wanted and my day quickly spiraled out of control.

I was woken up at 1:00 am by a Fab looking for kleenex because the box in his room was empty.  I was woken up again at 3:00 am by same Fab coughing.  After that, I could not get my brain to shut off again, and I ended up lying in the darkness, getting more and more agitated and frustrated.  Instead of turning my thoughts to God, and asking for protection, I let the bad start to my day take hold and grow roots.  By dinnertime, I was in mental overload, my kids were being extremely demanding and had spring fever in droves.  They were running around and having fun, but the noise and energy levels were getting on my very last nerve.  When my husband finally walked in during dinner, I quickly retreated.  But, I still didn't do what I should have done.

I chatted with a few girlfriends.  I attempted to be an artist on Draw Something (they were very poor attempts) and I posted a few humorous pictures on Facebook about feeling stressed.  These things soon had me giggling and feeling better, and I was able to spend the rest of the evening dealing with the Fabs until bedtime.

After the Fabs were in bed, I read a few emails from friends.  I responded to one with what was on my heart.  And one of my sentences was "Just keep your defenses up."  I read another message and didn't feel I was in the right state of mind to answer clearly enough, so I left that one for a later time.  I had a third "conversation" yesterday in which I wrote about not letting bitterness and anger control you, about not letting the anger and bitterness consume you.  That you must guard your heart against these attacks from others who have let the hatred consume them.

When my husband and I went to bed, we discussed the sermon we heard on Sunday.  Dan couldn't remember what the "challenge" of the message was.  I'm not usually a note taker, but I had scribbled the challenge down, and so I went to get the piece of paper.  The challenge?   Simply this:  Direct your very first thoughts towards God every morning.   As we went to sleep, I realized I had not done that and made a promise to do it today.

Unfortunately, I went to sleep without listening to what God was trying to say to me.  His message was there in front of me all day.  I readily handed out the message to others.  Yet, I forgot to take heed myself.

This morning, I was again woken up in the wee hours of the morning to a sick little Fab in the bathroom.  However, my very first thought was of Ephesians 6:17

 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I took care of little Fab, got him some medicine, some orange juice and settled him back into his bed with a kiss and a few whispered words in his ear.

I resolved myself to another early morning and came downstairs and decided to check Facebook.  One of the first pictures I saw was this:

This led me to read all of Ephesians 6, but I was especially stuck on the Armor of God
  

The Armor of God

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.

I wrote a response to the friend's message I neglected yesterday.  In it I wrote about God wanting us to be happy. 

God wants us to be happy. The one who is giving you these feelings is not God. This gives me great comfort at times. Sounds silly. But, to know there is evil at work, trying to bring me down, well, it makes me want to fight for the good. I don't want evil to win the battle within me. Ya know?

This was my lightbulb moment! 

DING!  I hadn't been guarding my heart yesterday.  I hadn't been taking what God freely gives.  I did not clothe myself in the Armor of God and evil was able to take root yesterday and put my world into a crazy tailspin - with seemingly small things being off-kilter.   Those small things chip away at the foundation God gives me if I don't stand firm, put on his full Armor and fight!  Fight the evil that lurks around, just waiting for that little chance to gain entrance and start to chip away at me.

Putting human characteristics to the evil that lurks around us helps me keep focus.  It gives me the courage to want to fight against evil and keep it from taking root in my heart.  The great thing is, even when I stumble, like I did yesterday; I can wake up, refreshed and renewed and God will begin His great work within me again.  If I let Him, He will stand me up, wipe the tears from my eyes, clothe me in His Armor, and help me fight the good fight!

Today, I am ready.  I gave my first thoughts to God, I have listened to His words, and I have clothed myself in His Armor.  I'm ready to fight.  Are you?