It has been awhile since I’ve been on here. We have been busy. We have been out of town a lot. I have also been trying to process what all is going on right now. What is going on in our country is absolutely crazy. I can’t really even begin to describe how saddening it is to watch what is happening. It breaks my heart to see the divide that is taking place. What I hope to do by writing this post is to provide some encouragement. We can choose to get caught up in the craziness of the worldly view and let that effect our every day lives, or we can choose to take a Godly approach to this situation. We cannot be immune to what is going on. Unless we live under a rock we are going to at least hear some of what is happening. Everywhere you look there is information (some true and some fake) regarding the craziness that has became this country. The great thing is we can look to a constant that will never change, fail, or lead us astray. This is the Bible.
In Ephesians 6 we are taught about the Armor of God. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full Armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” If we let all of this negativity creep into our minds and into our lives, that is exactly what the devil wants. He wants us to become part of the problem, not the solution. The armor of God can help be part of that solution for us as individuals and as a whole. Chapter 6:14-18 says, “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 request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.”
In a time like we are in right now, this gives me encouragement. This helps me to keep in mind that everything will be ok because God has equipped us with what we need to overcome evil of all kinds in this world. The tricky part is having the discipline to use it. The easier path is to have the same negative approach as a lot of other people. This outlook is contagious. It spreads quickly. It brings others along. But, so does a Godly view. So does being positive. So does being encouraging. It’s all how we choose to approach things.
Is it easy to have a positive approach in times like this, absolutely not. But our goal should be that we use the Armor of God in a way that those around us feel that it is easier to have a positive approach and that the negative outlook is rare. Is it always going to work out like that, no. But it certainly can’t hurt anything to think that it will.
I challenge everyone to dig deeper into Ephesians 6 and the Armor of God. I encourage everyone to work really hard at becoming a positive light in a dark world right now. These are hard times we are in. There is no doubt about that. We honestly don’t know where it is going from here. We have no idea. The great thing is we have a blue print for overcoming anything we encounter in this life, and that is the Bible. We can use our foundation, our Christianity, to make a positive difference in this negative situation. I hope we don’t just talk about it. I hope we put into practice what the Bible teaches. It is not always easy to do. But if we want to overcome all the negativity that is all around us, it is essential. There is no other way to come out on top. We might eventually SURVIVE all of this negativity, but the only way to THRIVE is through Jesus Christ and the Armor of God!!!