Ephesian 6:11
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Scripture is clear that our spiritual battle belongs to the Lord. We are not strong enough to fight and win it on our own. We saw yesterday that God is the Mighty Warrior who dresses for war with the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation, along with all the needed battle gear. When God is with us, we will win every time. So, why do I often lose the battle? Why do I give in to temptation and embrace sin? If the battle truly belongs to the Lord, why am I ever defeated?

There are two biblical truths that stand side by side. God is all-powerful and sovereign over all. Satan can only work with God’s permission. And Satan can only win the spiritual battle when we decide to fight on our own. The truth is clear—we win when we fight in God’s strength and with him at our side. We lose when we go it alone. This is a tension that is found throughout the Bible. One commentator explains this as “the tension of a covenant relationship with God.”

God always takes the initiative, always sets the agenda, but He has also chosen that humans must respond (initially and continually). Sometimes the Bible emphasizes mankind’s response (Ezek. 18:31, “Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit”) and sometimes God’s provision (cf. Ezek. 36:26–27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.”). Both are true![1]

God is sovereign and all-powerful. He is the Mighty Warrior who fights our spiritual battles. And he allows us a choice. We can fight by his side, or we can fight on our own. When we fight by his side, we win. When we fight on our own, we lose every time. So, back to our passage, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil”!

Father,
Give me the strength, the wisdom, and the desire to always fight my battles with you by my side. Help me put on your armor so I can stand firm against Satan’s plots to bring me down. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] Robert James Utley, Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, Then Later, Philippians), vol. Volume 8, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International, 1997), 137.