Strength of His might

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11)

What does it mean to be "strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might"? It comes down to one word... trust. Jesus is asking, 'will you trust me; will you trust and love me enough to do what I ask'?

Trust depends on faith to "believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Christ is asking those who seek Him to trust Him through the action of obedience. As Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

He says then, "Put on the full armor of God." Why armor? Soldiers, the police, and SWAT teams need armor to protect them... does the believer in Jesus need protection? Are we under attack... are we at war? I hear often that the Gospel is love, peace, kindness, and gentleness... hardly anyone speaks of warfare... Why is that?

Our Heavenly Father provides the armor but we are instructed to 'put it on'. That means, yes, the Christian actually has 'to do something'? God wants us armored-up because each day and at every moment we are at war; we are in a spiritual battle. The enemy of heaven and of our souls, the devil, continually seeks "to devour" us, to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8).

What then is this armor?