The child of God sometimes belittles the enemy who stands at the door to devour even as the world has reduced him to "cartoon characters." We have to see him behind these things as he uses the world and the battle rages on. The question is are we ready to fight the battle? There is also a negligence on the part of the child of God as we are engaged in the battle of faith. We are not bystanders! We are admonished here to stand strong in the Lord and the put on the armor of faith!

The need: Are we ready for the conflict? Many will say yes as we stand in the strength of God. Paul distinguishes between standing in God's might but also our responsibility to put on the armor of God! We must underscore the NECESSITY of putting on this panoply! If we stand strong in God's might but a soldier forgets to put the armor on he will die! A soldier who puts the armament on who does not stand in strength also has the same outcome. Work out your own salvation and resist the devil. Many passages of scripture point to our calling and responsibility. God gives us an armament perfectly suited for battle to accomplish the exact purpose for which it was given. Designed by God for our exact need and for the battle we must fight! The panoply matches EXACTLY!

Manner: How? Put it on! Take it to yourself! God says the WHOLE armor! All of it! We don't pick and choose but we put on the whole panoply as they mesh together perfectly (and do so by design) to fight the whole battle of faith in whatever we face. Often we fail to put it on as we see and deal with what is before us. What presses the hardest? Our old man with the busyness of life? Spiritual things? We often satisfy OUR needs but put the spiritual things we should engage in on the back burner. Our lust of flesh is so strong that Paul admonishes "make no provision for the flesh!" Put on ALL of the armament! Take the girdle, the breastplate, the shoes laced up tight for nimbleness, the shield to guard against the fiery darts! Be right with GOD and when we take Hid panoply we will be ready to fight the battle of faith! We see truth and faith daily and we must be prepared! Put each piece on with prayer and having done all we STAND!

Certainty: Then will we stand in this life with certainty that I cannot fail as I stand in God's strength and that the armament we have on will not fail but protect against all that comes to fight us. Put on the armament for the battle of faith!....