Recently the enemy has been attacking me - hard. I have heard things in my head of being unwanted, undesired, unworthy, and a failure. And as much as I hate to admit it, it's impacted me. I truly believe this happened because I was not making a conscious effort to start my day by putting on the full armor of God as Ephesians 6:10-18 instructs. For those who want a brief summary of what this entails, here are the pieces we should be donning ourselves with daily:
belt of truth
breastplate of righteousness
shield of faith
helmet of salvation
shield of faith
sword of the Spirit (the Word)
We also must stand with our "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" (verse 15).
If you are currently unaware, we are at war. The Apostle Paul states in his letter to the church of Corinth that, "we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). Thoughts that creep into your mind that do not align with what God has spoken over you are straight from the enemy.
So, dear friend, let me remind you what God says about how important you are:
You are loved. Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, 1 John 4:9-10
You are worthy. Galatians 2:20
You are valued. Matthew 6:26
You are enough. 1 Peter 2:9
You are chosen. Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 2:9
You are seen. Genesis 16:13, Jeremiah 12:3
You are not forgotten. Isaiah 49:15
You are cared for. 1 Peter 5:7
You were made uniquely. Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:14
You were created for a purpose. Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10
God is with you. Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:9, Zephaniah 3:17
God will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5
I'm not sure if you needed to hear this, but this is definitely a reminder I needed lately.
I encourage you to cover yourself with the TRUTH and protect yourself with God's full armor - especially when the darts and arrows are being thrown your way. Remember, though the battle is already won, the enemy is going to continue trying you; if he tempted Jesus, then by gosh, he'll definitely try you! Protect yourself and seek The Lord. His Word is where the truth lies.
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