Charis Corner: Stories of Grace in a Broken World
By Kari Mahara
Ephesians
6:10-18:
“Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so
that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.”
Okay. I have
exactly fifteen minutes to feed the twins and get them in the van to leave for
preschool. Grilled cheese? No, pbj.
So I run to the cabinet, ignoring the overflowing sink with dirty dishes—that’s
the husband’s job, not mine. (They’ve been there for three days now. I’m not
about to break down and wash them.) I open the door, and there are no plates.
No worries. The table is cleanish. I grab bread, peanut butter, and jelly, and
then I open the drawer for a knife. BUT THERE ARE NONE.
I have a choice
now. I can scream, groan, curse my husband, call him on the phone and tell him
off, or all the above. Or I can step away for just a minute and breathe.
In this
scenario, my husband is the enemy. He should’ve made it a priority to clean the
dishes. He should’ve done this or that. But this verse is a great reminder:
MY HUSBAND IS
NOT THE ENEMY. SATAN IS.
And guess what?
That slow driver on the highway—or swerving, speeding psycho—still not the
enemy. That self-absorbed parent, oblivious to their kids, too busy on their
phone—NOT the enemy. My kids, your kids, parents, coworkers, bosses, checkout
clerks, Pastor Doug, the elders, that scowling guy at church, and anyone else
who pops up on social media.
THEY ARE NOT THE
ENEMY.
We are at war.
Satan is on the prowl, searching for weaknesses in our armor. He does not stop.
Do we know? Are we ready?
“Therefore put
on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able
to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm
then, with 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 the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet
of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Our need to dive
into the 5-5-5 isn’t just our Christian duty. This is our defense against the
enemy. We need to be ready to stand, but not alone. Together. Around our waist,
we wield TRUTH. Against our breast, we hold RIGHTEOUSNESS. Strapped to our feet
is READINESS, which comes from PEACE. Clasped to our arm is FAITH, which we use
to snuff out Satan’s lies and tricks. Protecting our head—our brain and
thoughts—is SALVATION. In our hand is a sword, or THE BIBLE.
THESE are our
defense against the war raging around us. This is how we have hope amongst
chaos.
“And pray in the
Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
I went through a
rough couple weeks. I felt depressed, unappreciated, alone. I became lethargic,
unmotivated, and I stopped caring about important things in my life. I read my
Bible, I prayed, but it didn’t break the cloud of suffocation I felt. Then a
dear friend at LifeWater texted me. She asked how I was doing, whether I wanted
to get together with our kids. Her message to me opened the door for me to ask
for help, for prayer. Once I opened up about the funk I was in, she not only
related to my experience, but she prayed for me. Then I was able to reach out
to others in my Life Group, and they prayed for me. With so many brothers and
sisters in Christ praying for me, I was able to break free from the depression.
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