O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood

A number of years ago, when I was still a fairly new Christian, a church I was attending encouraged us to pray on the armor of God from Ephesians 6 every morning.  I was in the Navy at the time, away from home, family and friends, and every day was a struggle.  I needed all the help I could get.  But I had very limited understanding of spiritual warfare, and even thinner understanding of grace.  But every morning I prayed Ephesians 6: 14-17:

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

I envisioned myself taking up each piece of the armor and putting it on my body.  The belt, helmet, breastplate, and shoes.  I envisioned picking up a shield and a sword.  I looked very medieval in my mind.  But if you could have actually seen me, I probably looked a lot more like David when he tried to wear Saul’s armor to face Goliath; very ill-fitting.  I really had no idea what I was doing, but it sounded good, so for awhile I tried to wear armor.

Years after the Navy, I would spend a brief time in the Army Reserves.  As part of my training in the army, I had to wear armor.  And so, now I was putting on real armor, but again like David, this armor didn’t fit.  The steel toed boots were too big.  The breastplate sat heavy on my shoulders and when I tried to get in the right positions for shooting my rifle, the breastplate would ride up my back and push my too loose helmet down into my eyes so I couldn’t see the target.  It was more a hinder than a help, but it was supposed to help save my life.

But I have come to realize something recently about God’s armor.  It isn’t like the armor I was trying to wear, whether in reality or in my mind.  And it isn’t like Saul’s armor David tried to wear either.  In fact, David removed Saul’s armor to face Goliath.  And when he approached Goliath with only a staff in hand, a sling shot and five stones, Goliath laughed at him.  But David said, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”  Goliath and the Philistines were defeated that day.  By David?  No, by the God of the armies of Israel.

I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory

How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me

I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning

Then I repented of my sin and won the victory

Recently in church while singing Victory in Jesus, I had one of those ah ha, epiphany moments and realized I’d been looking at God’s armor all wrong.  I’d been trying to put on equipment, but really, I should have been putting on grace.  Look at Ephesians 6:11-12:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

If it’s a spiritual battle, then it must also be spiritual armor:

The belt of truth – Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, but by me.” This belt then, is the truth Jesus has revealed to us by grace, and we are to gird our loins with it.  Girding our loins means to prepare ourselves for something difficult or challenging.  We can only face down the lies of the enemy with Truth.

The breastplate of righteousness – 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  This is not then our own righteousness that we have to struggle to achieve, it is the righteousness of God given us through grace by the sacrifice of Jesus himself.  This righteousness covers our hearts.

As shoes, the readiness given by the gospel of peace – Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” Oh, by grace, may we be ready at all times to proclaim this good news to a world desperately in need of hearing it!

The shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one – throughout all these years, Satan has continually thrown his fiery darts at me and I have put up my shield to extinguish them but very often I have staggered, stumbled and fallen.  But Jesus has always been right there strengthening my faith – I stagger, and He says, “I am always with you.” I stumble and He says, “I alone am your sweet water, drink of me.”  I fall and He says, “I am your rock of salvation.  I cannot be moved.”  And as I abide in Him and in His Word I’m able to take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and speak 1 John 4:4 – “greater is He that is in me than he that is the world!”

The helmet of salvation – John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  I love that salvation is a helmet.  I can see the salvation of Jesus pouring down from my head to cover my whole self.  And none can take away what God has given us by His grace!

I misunderstood years ago when I was trying to put on physical armor to face a spiritual battle.  Oh, but God is full of grace – I might not have understood the armor of God, but He was fitting me in it anyway.  God gives me victory – in Jesus.  Jesus is Truth, He is righteousness, He is the good news and He is peace.  He is my shield of faith and His Word is my sword.   Jesus is my savior forever.  In Him and in His armor, I can stand firm to the end, because He has promised to complete that which He has begun in me.

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory

And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the Crystal Sea

About the angels singing, and the old redemption story

And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory