When God tells you that you get to be in his army, don’t you think the first thing you would do is get a weapon? Nope. God gives you a list of five things you need to wear to protect yourself. Not until the end of the list, when he makes sure you are good and covered, does he say, “Oh, and you need a weapon too.”
But this is no typical weapon; he says you will use “the word of God as the sword that the Spirit supplies” (Ephesians 6:17). When Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan, he didn’t wrestle or fight. Instead, when Satan tempted him, he fought back with God’s Word. Satan does the same thing today. He’ll try to tempt you to sin too.
But . . . using God’s Word sounds, well, kind of boring. How can a book that is thousands of years old be powerful? Because the God who gave it to us is still alive. The Bible is still how he gets his message to us today. God’s Word is your personal way of knowing what is right and wrong. It gives you strength to stand up to Satan.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions.”
Only the word of a living God can still judge, still be powerful, still help you fight the battles you face today.
Chomp on this!
What are some of the lies you hear or see on TV?
What are lies that you sometimes believe about yourself?
What passages have you used or can you use to fight back, to poke holes in those lies?
