Daily Devotional - Putting on God's Armor

Be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. 
—Ephesians 6:10

Do you know what happens when you spend time with God? You begin to act like David when he faced the giant Goliath. You begin to take a stand and demand of the enemy, "Who do you think you are to defy the army of the living God?" (see 1 Samuel 17:26). As soldiers of the cross, you and I are not supposed to be afraid of our enemy, the devil.

When a spirit of fear comes along, rather than shaking like a leaf, we are to be as bold as a lion. The devil comes against those who are doing damage to his kingdom, those who are doing something for God. How do we withstand the devil? By putting on the full armor of God, taking up the shield of faith, by which we can quench all his fiery darts, and by wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (see Ephesians 6:13-17).

But all of that armor and all of those weapons come from spending time in fellowship with the Lord. Ephesians 6:10 actually begins this discourse on the armor of God, saying, "Be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]." To me, that says, "Be strong through your fellowship with God." Then verse 11 goes on to say, "Put on God's whole armor." Only after being strengthened in fellowship can we properly wear the armor.