“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…. be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:11-18
I worked out for an hour the other day and left my fitness tracker behind. Darn! So all those burpees, squats, kettle ball swings, and sit-ups were to no avail – right?
That’s how millions of us look at it. We are consumed by meeting our fitness goals – walking 10,000 steps or closing our Apple Watch rings.
What if we went out and forgot to put on our armor of God? What if we failed to measure acts of grace?
Take a look at Ephesians 6:11-18:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…. be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
I may make sure I fasten a fitness tracker around my wrist every day, but I certainly don’t adorn a breastplate, shield, helmet, and sword. The passage makes me stop and think, though.
God knows what we’re doing. I don’t have to wear an Apple Watch to measure my steps or activity level. In the same way, I have no need to count the times I smile at someone, write a kind note, take a casserole to a neighbor, or contribute to a Go Fund Me for church members who experienced a house fire or other tragedy.
In fact, God would rather us NOT keep track of such things. Remember in Matthew 6:2 when we are told to never announce our good deeds “with trumpet fanfare.”
Praying is always a good exercise, and we can do it quietly and without fanfare. The best part is that the more we do it, the more spiritually fit we become. We should strive – privately – to close by bedtime these three rings: Faith. Hope. Love. In other words, we should remember each day to be in God’s word, to pray, and to count our blessings.
Let’s not forget that tracker!