Are You Properly Armed?

“Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)

This is our weapon as a Christian.  We need to make sure they hear the truth, but we also need to show God’s love in this truth.  The Holy Spirit will give us the words we need to say at the right time.  However, if we are not studying our bibles regularly we will not know and understand what we need to say. 

The bible tells us that God’s word is flawless.  2 Samuel 22:31 (NIV) says, “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.”  Proverbs 30:5 (NIV) mirrors this with, “Every word of God is flawless.”  So it is well worth making sure you are getting the word not only in your head, but in your heart.  “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119:11 (NIV).  Another verse that many know that lets us know how God’s Word leads us is Psalm 119:105 (NIV),.  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  I know walking around in the dark hurts and I find this reassuring. 

I tried a lot of worldly ways of doing things before I became a Christian.  Following God’s Word and knowing how to use it properly has made life so much better.  Sure it seems crazy at times, but it isn’t any crazier than Joshua following God’s lead on how to take Jericho.  Simply by marching around it in a prescribed way for seven days he and the Israelites watched God make the walls fall without them even having to touch them.  Going back to Psalm 119 in verse 9 (NIV) we find some good instruction:  “How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word.”  Do not stop following the Holy Spirit and the Word because the unimaginable and totally crazy will blow people’s minds as God does His wonders.  I have seen prayer teams answered as they pray via the leading to the Holy Spirit and believing God’s word in how he watches over us and helps us when we ask.  Cell phones have worked where they normally do not to report emergencies and never worked there again.  Helicopters airlifting patients get through air space and weather issues.  Head trauma patients walk again as if nothing happened only three weeks later.  And I could list more I know of personally.

But it is not all about the miracles.  Simply having the right word for anyone, even a complete stranger, can totally change their day.  It can let them know there is a God that cares.  Maybe they are not ready to say yes to him today, but our following the Holy Spirit guidance we all have access to as Christians and knowing how to apply the Word to our everyday lives will make a world of difference one little word at a time.  Per James 1:22 we must not only listen to the word because we could wind up deceiving ourselves into thinking we got enough.  We must do what it says.

Now this is why the Word can cause issues and feel like things hurt.  It is a living thing.  Let us look at Hebrews 4:12 (NIV).  “For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  It is a weapon, but if used properly it is cutting off the bad and leaving us with good.  It is helping us grow into the person God really intended us to be rather than what the world would love to force us to be.  It is scary because it has power.  All words have power to cut, but the word of God works to a living and constructive end.  The world would like us to be defeated and negative just because we do not have this or that thing or skill.

Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) says, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”  I see this all the time and I’m sure we all do.  As humans, whether we know Christ or not, we find it all too easy to slide to the negative side and say things we should not or play the blame game.  We must remember words are living things and cut to a spiritual level.  Do we want our words to be a healing balm or do we want them to cut people down?