STANDING FIRM AGAINST THE EVIL DAY

FRIDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2021

In Ephesians 6:10-12 (NKJV), the Bible admonished us to put on the whole armor of God. It actually reads, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Reference: Ephesians 6:13 New King James Version (NKJV) "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Apostle Paul penned this down while in the custody of Roman soldiers. So he used the military equipment of his guards as an allegory to define our spiritual warfare and to open our eyes to see how God uses divine tools to equip us for the good fight of faith. Beloved, God is strong, and He wants you strong, meaning that you must take everything He has set out for you - divinely-prepared spiritual weapons of the best materials - wear them and put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way in the evil day.

There are various ranks of evil spiritual forces in the unseen or dark world and also in heavenly places. They are forces operating in the negative supernatural and they have one thing in common - the devil's scheme. Since the Devil, their father, has been defeated, all they use is His evil schemes. However, as Christians, we must understand that there is such a thing as evil day, and the only way to stand firm and prevail against the devil's scheme in the evil day - from the standpoint of victory - is to put on the full armor of God. To stand firm is to refuse to change your position, Word-based confessions and faith conviction when the day of evil comes knocking on your door. In times of evil day, the enemy can come in like a flood and sometimes many face this reality, attacking people instead of standing on the Word and putting the enemy where he belongs.

Once you accept Christ's salvation and declare His Lordship over your life, you have become the devil's enemy and also his target in the day of evil. And as Christians, we must understand that there are times we face untimely spiritual battles, because of who we've come to believe in, and these battles are not triggered in the natural, but from spiritual realms. For this reason, Paul reminded us in 2 Timothy 2:3 (NLT) that we function as good soldiers of Christ Jesus who enlisted us as part of His Kingdom army. In the next verse, he went on to say that Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them (verse 4). This knowledge is very relevant to our faith walk and calling because its a call to always walk in tune with the Spirit as we grow in faith, refusing to give in to the enemy's wiles, because the Devil, is truly an enemy.

Now it's also important to understand better what Paul means here by using the term, "The evil day". The evil day is not one particular day that you went to your work place and got involved in a scene of terrible experience that left you troubled and speechless with rage. The day of evil could be a period or even a full season when on most occasions, the enemy throws at you, a notice of negative report, an evil attack, unexpected arguments, false manipulation of emotions and all kinds of weapon - in the face of adversity. So the day of evil can be moments in one's life when the enemy stirs the heat of spiritual battle in a critical way.

At such times, all of a sudden, an expectation is turned down, tempers of loved ones grow short, friend's attitude change for no reason, workmates become hostile, misinformed ideas develop, hatred and betrayals are stirred, unusual disagreements and misunderstanding in dealing with others happen, boss changes his mind about the assistance, promotion seems delayed, business becomes unfavourable, good and wise intentions get misunderstood. All could happen simultaneously and also can occur in all areas of life, regardless of commitment and devotion to God because its spiritually provoked for good.

Usually or most times, the evil day takes its full course, such that many good Christians are almost ensnared to give up, instead of standing firm, seeing and dealing with it differently with the "victory" mentality. Heedfully, James says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2-3 ESV). Beloved, various trials come and go, but with an attitude of thanksgiving to God, a strong faith will face them head-on, win and develop endurance. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Ecclesiastes 12:1; Romans 13:12; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 5:9.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, it is awesome to acknowledge that you made provision for full armour of faith, which represents divine tools that equip me for the good fight of faith. In light of your great plan and glorious Kingdom you've made me part of, I stand on the Word and remain steadfast, knowing that I wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the unseen ranks of evil spiritual forces in the dark world and in heavenly places, already defeated by Christ Jesus. For any given situation, I stand my ground in faith as an effective soldier of Christ and prevail by the strength of the Spirit, against the wiles of the devil, thereby walking in Christ's victory always in Jesus' Name, Amen!