15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (Ephesians 6:15-17 NKJV)
The Armor of God passage in Ephesians begins with “take up the whole armor of God…so that you may stand.” Every piece has a specific purpose, but this morning I want to focus on three.
Roman soldiers shod their feet with sandals that had “hobnails” in the bottom to give them traction. I doubt these were overly comfortable but they served a purpose. It allowed them to stand firm when in battle and gave them traction. We need to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This is so important as we go out into our daily life that we begin with this preparation each day to stand.
The shield and helm are also very important as a warrior needs to be able to defend himself. Shields are active weapons both for soldiers of the time and today in our faith life. They are not meant to be simply held, but are used to actively defend ourselves. The helmet is a passive defense mechanism. It protected the warriors head in battle, just like the Word of God covers us and protects us. The Word though is also meant to be active in our lives.
Reflect on: How you are standing in your faith, how you are actively defending yourself from the enemy and how you are keeping the Word firmly on your head.