0625 THE DAY OF EVIL

JUNE 24 = EPHESIANS 6

THE DAY OF EVIL

Most people who have been around church for any length of time have heard about the “full armor of God.” It includes belt, breastplate, footwear, shield, helmet, and sword. And Paul is saying that all of this will help you to stand your ground. I’ve heard about and read this description dozens of times in my life. But the context of the battle being in “the day of evil” is what jumps out at me today.

First, here is what Paul said:

“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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

This equipment is needed in warfare, of course. It is not for show, and not for fun. It is a matter of life and death—eternal life and death. 

So, what exactly are we preparing for? It is “The day of evil.” “The evil day.” It is not talking about a cataclysmic day of judgment, or any other end times catastrophe. Paul is talking individually, that in everyone’s life comes a “day of evil.” Maybe it’s as simple as the day you first fall under conviction and you repent unto salvation. But likely it’s one of “those” later days in which what some call “spiritual warfare” breaks out around you. You are tempted. Relationships are falling apart. You are tempted. You don’t know what to do. You are tempted. Tempted to give up your faith. Tempted to give in to some activity. Tempted to give way to the wrong influences. Tempted to give out under the stress. 

This is when you need to have the weapons of spiritual warfare already in place. It is too late to just start to acquire them. 

If you don’t already know the truth, then you won’t have the belt of truth holding the sword of the Spirit by your side. So you need to study the truth today to be ready for when the day of evil comes.

If you are not working to practice righteousness now, you will have nothing to protect your heart from the onslaught of daggers and arrows seeking to pierce it. So the breastplate of righteousness is something that should already be in place, before the evil day arrives. After all, you can’t be putting on your armor once the battle has already begun.

Can you imagine a soldier in battle who steps his bare feet into a pile of nails while in battle? It would not go well at a strategic time in the battle, would it? So we must already have our feet shod and the straps tight by having the gospel of peace already clear in our mind.

Know this about the day of evil: the devil does not only excel in hand-to-hand combat. He has flaming arrows, or even missiles, that can strike from a distance. You might see it coming, but you can’t get out of the way, and unless you have a shield, you are a goner. The shield is faith, and the flaming arrows could be some sort of indirect attack on your convictions or pressure from society. If your actions are not coming from a place of faith, but have merely been habit or convenience or culture, then at the very time when you need to stand your ground, instead you are thrown into confusion by the unexpected attack that comes from out of nowhere.

And what is protecting your head in the midst of this battle? Your head, the control center of the rest of your body. Your head, that vulnerable and exposed spot that can bring instant death. Why would you not want to protect your head with a helmet while in battle? Your helmet would be salvation. When the day of evil comes, you cannot protect your head, spiritually, without already knowing that you know that you are saved. 

And when that day of evil comes, you are mostly defending yourself, protecting yourself as best you can, while the enemy pounds away at you. But you do have one weapon with which to strike, not just defend. That weapon is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. The written word (Bible). The spoken word. The memorized word. This is what you can use to drive the enemy away and overcome in the day when evil surpasses human strength.

May you and I be ready for the day of evil. You know it is coming. You don’t know when. But it will be the day of evil, and we cannot prepare casually for it. Amen.