I often feel like the armour I’m supposed to wear is too big for me. The responsibilities are too big, the challenges are too big, and what others expect of me is too big.
It’s a bit like David, when he volunteered to take on Goliath the giant. King Saul was flabbergasted,
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” (1 Sam 17:33, NLT).
To help David out, Saul gave him his own armour to wear. David put the various parts of the armour on and tried walking a few steps. But he could hardly move! Saul was a big man, but David was just a kid. So David took off the armour, and said to Saul,
I can’t go in these… I’m not used to them (1 Sam 17:39).
So David went to face Goliath with five stones and a sling (v.40). But he wasn’t naked. Instead of wearing Saul’s armour, he had much better armour. David said to Goliath,
I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45, NIV).
The world needs to see Christians who wear their armour with confident vulnerability
The Bible says that as Christians, we are to wear a great, big armour. The Apostle Paul writes,
Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes… put on the full armour of God… Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:11,13–18).
I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I don’t fit into my armour. Within myself, I don’t have perfect faith, represented by the shield, let alone anything else.
What do you do when you don’t fit your armour? Remember, this is not Saul’s armour: it’s the armour that God gives you. And he calls you to wear it. So, what are you to do when you see that it’s too big for you?
The world is sick of seeing pretenders and fakers, who wear their Christianity before the world with false pride and self-righteousness. These have done more harm to the cause of Christ than the most militant atheists.
The world needs to see Christians who wear their armour with confident vulnerability. They wear their armour with confidence because they rest in the merits and grace of the Lord. They wear their armour with vulnerability because they are able to face their own weaknesses and faults, knowing they have been accepted and forgiven by God in Christ.
The other thing that they know is that as they wear the armour of God, day by day, they are growing into it. It’s just what happens when you wear it. It’s the natural work of the Spirit of the God.
Don’t be naked in the world. Put on the armour of God. Even if it doesn’t quite fit.
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli Gonzalez is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question.
