Able to stand

Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

– Ephesians 6.11,13

A few years ago we bought a trampoline. It has been a lot of fun for Eoin and his friends and now it is primarily a lot of fun for the grandchildren (though Eoin and friends still use it, and even Grampy has made an appearance or two J ).

The kids always like to walk or run around the trampoline. Its instability makes it a lot of fun as the bounce and fall in fits of laughter.

It makes for fun on the trampoline, but instability makes for disaster in life. If we can't stand in unstable days then we are doomed to fall.

But we have a way to stand - God provides a full suit of armour for His soldiers so that they can stand up to the opposition. The next few verses will describe that armour, but these verses stress why it is so important.

Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand...that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.

Stand...withstand...stand. Saying it three times makes it pretty important.

We live in an evil day. We live in a day when the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking those whom he might devour to wile us from what God has for us and to crush us in the battle.

'Stand up, stand up for Jesus' is a great old gospel song that reminds us of the vital importance of standing firm and standing true.

May God give each of us the strength to stand in His power in these evil days.