6 Things You Absolutely Need to Be Strong

Do you realize how important relationships are to standing strong in life’s struggles? In Ephesians 5, Paul tells followers of Christ to be filled with the Spirit and then lists a number of ways for that to happen. The last in his list is about relating to the people who are closest to us in life: our fellow Christians, our spouses, parents and children, and people in our work. I’m sure you’ll also realize that not only are these relationships sources of strength; sometimes they are sources of pain! But in spite of the pain that comes through these close relationships, through other people, Paul emphatically declares that these people are not our enemy. Your struggle is not with them!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. Ephesians 6:10-12

Knowing that your enemy is the devil ought to put enough concern in you that you totally lean on God’s strength. Knowing that you have God’s strength will overcome any fear of the devil in you. We should never underestimate the enemy. But we should never underestimate the power of God in us, either. We don’t overcome the enemy by pretending that he’s powerless. We overcome the enemy by depending on the greater power of the Lord. Let’s stop pretending and start depending on God.

Paul commands us to be strong and to put on the armor of God. Since Paul presents this spiritual struggle and the armor of God in the context of human relationships, let’s keep that connection as we think about the different parts of the armor God provides. Here are the six things you need to stand strong in life’s struggles:

1. You need the truth.

Put on the belt of truth. Our culture is not going to help you with the truth. We have a crazy relationship with the truth as a nation. Our media now acknowledge that some truths were resisted over the last several months and years for the simple reason that someone they despised spoke to them. It should be that truth is truth even if you despise the one speaking it. On the other hand, a lie is a lie even if you love the person speaking it. I think we love to fool ourselves into thinking that the ones we love can’t lie to us, right? We do it with our kids. I’ve heard parents say, “My child wouldn’t lie; if he says he didn’t do it, then he didn’t do it.” I encourage that in your family and your relationships you make a radical commitment to truth. We don’t need to be harsh in our commitment to truth. We need to speak truth in love, as the Bible says. But if we want to resist the devil, who is called the “father of lies,” we must pursue truth and honesty in our lives and in our relationships.

Can we also get rid of a phrase that has taken hold in America the last couple of years especially? Someone recently shared with me how encouraged they were that a young lady who had been abused in a church environment was sharing “her truth.” Honestly, I almost felt like that was an insult. Here’s my thinking on that: the victim did not share “her truth.” She shared THE truth. We don’t all live in our own little universes with our own little versions of truth. We live in God’s universe and there is his truth. I’m not saying we can’t have different opinions about things, but we’re not going to stand against the devil with the belt of opinion.

Paul’s primary emphasis on truth is not just about facts. The two important truths of Ephesians are these: the truth of the Gospel, and the truth of your new identity in Christ. Those truths will set you free and keep you free when the devil comes against you. They will also keep you strong and secure when close relationships are troubled.

2. You need righteousness.

Paul says to put on the breastplate of righteousness. So many of our relational problems come from our personal insecurities. When we are secure in our identity as followers of Christ, we can keep the devil from messing with our relationships. Knowing our righteousness in Christ can be a powerful means of shutting the devil out.

As a young follower of Christ, I was plagued by shame and guilt over my past problems and my current weaknesses. I was in seminary already, surrounded by what seemed to be spiritual giants, and I knew how far short I fell. Then I came across 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Through Christ we have been made the righteousness of God! We have to learn how to stand in the righteousness given to us through Jesus Christ.

If you want to stand against the attacks of the enemy, you are also expected to live out your new identity. You cannot live in unrighteousness and expect victory over the devil. I read a story of a pastor who saw a young church member going into a porn store. The pastor gently confronted the young man, and the young man’s defense was, “Before I go into the porn shop I always bind the demons so they won’t have any power over me.” That is not effective spiritual warfare. We have to live out our warfare, and righteousness is one of our weapons. Don’t disregard this! If you live out a shameful identity, the shame and guilt will undermine your most important relationships no matter how much you quote Scriptural truth.

3. You need readiness.

Put on the readiness of the gospel of peace. The power of the gospel, the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus, is a powerful weapon. We experience victory over the devil when we’re ready to share the good news. We should be sharing our witness wherever we are, especially in our own homes, with our own children. Peter says to always be ready to give an answer for the hope you have. This October we’ll be engaging in Convergence Evangelism, where we do a big day of service in the community, and you invite your neighbor to do good deeds with you. That witness of the gospel is a powerful spiritual weapon. Be a soldier in God’s army and you can depend more fully on the power of God in your own warfare against the enemy. Share God’s peace with the people in your lives, and you’ll be more likely to enjoy peace in your relationships.

4. You need faith.

Put on the shield of faith. This is what quenches the enemy’s flaming arrows. We enter into our salvation by faith, and we live out our salvation by faith. There’s so much more that could be said about this, but let’s acknowledge that we are to be a people who have faith in God. Can God handle our doubts? Yes, he can. But we shouldn’t let that cause us to think we will have victory over the enemy through doubt. It’s by faith. By being a person of faith, you will be the kind of person who keeps the enemies’ flaming arrows from setting your family and other relationships on fire!

5. You need the helmet of salvation.

Put on the helmet of salvation. This is not just the hope that one day we will be saved. Our confidence in our salvation is a powerful force against the devil. The devil wants to keep you in doubt about your salvation. I invited a friend from college to church with me, and several young adults went to a restaurant after service. A young lady in the group asked my friend, “Do you know if you would go to heaven if you died?” and he responded, “I hope so.” She shot back more harshly than I wished she had: “You better do more than hope so!” That was not really a great witness, but it did represent a great truth: We are not just hoping. We stand in faith that through Jesus our salvation is sure. Again, if you can be secure in your relationship with God, and you know that the relationship with God is eternal, you can handle the light and momentary troubles that come into our earthly relationships.

6. You need the word of God.

Pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. This is the offensive weapon. We are expected to stand, but that doesn’t mean just be passive in this warfare. Don’t be passive! No, you don’t really have to go looking for a fight with the devil. He’s coming after you, your family, and your most important relationships. But your stand is not entirely defensive. We have something to strike with: the word of God.

With all this, though it’s not part of the armor specifically, Paul says we are to pray in the Spirit. 

We are not fringe Christians.

We have to realize that belief in the devil and engaging in spiritual warfare is not just for fringe Christians. Jesus taught us to pray a daily pattern of prayer that included “deliver us from the evil one.” When we stand, we can see miracles happen in the lives of the people we love.

Pastor Ed’s Notes