So What Are You Wearing?

What are you wearing? How many times have I asked that question?

I might be going out to dinner with friends, attending a special celebration, retreat, or meeting. If I’m not clear about what the appropriate attire for the occasion is, I check with a friend. “What are you wearing?” I say.

What we wear is important to us.

It is also important to God.

I was reminded of that this morning when my husband Pete left for work. As usual, he was dressed casually in jeans and a shirt. Sticking out from under his arm was a folder of his weekend paperwork, and in one hand lunch--a bowl of wild rice soup--in the other, a cup of coffee. With a goodbye kiss, he walked out the door. But before I could lock up, Pete was back. “Did you notice what I forgot?” A silly smile stretched his face.

I looked him over. Everything was fine.

But then my eyes reached the floor. Pete was heading off to work in stocking feet.

Shoeless. That’s not good. It’s not safe, especially when you consider that Pete is Physical Plant supervisor at a Global Farm that focuses on hunger solutions for the ten-forty window. It doesn’t take much to imagine all the muck there is to step on in an environment where the emphasis is on everything natural, nothing chemical.

As soon as we stopped laughing, my mind went back to the weekend behind us when Pete led an evangelism seminar at our church, encouraging others to share the Good News. A word picture from Ephesians 6 placed itself on an easel square in the center of my mind. “On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong” (Ephesians 6:15 NCV).

I was reminded that I must stand strong. Daily, I engage in spiritual battles. And, just as surely as Pete left for work without proper attire, I often go into battle without the attire that has been given to me.

Just today, not long after Pete left for work, the enemy shoved his ugly head into my world when I learned that someone I love deeply has been hurt beyond words, her trust broken, taken advantage of, and in the aftermath, her children at risk of being casualties of war.

And then a neighbor child we’ve been praying for and love told me she has to move because her dad won’t be living with them anymore and her mom can’t afford to live in our condo community. We’d been working with this preious little girl and her sister, giving them Bibles for Christmas, inviting them to Bible School and church. And now she is moving because of her father’s sin. “Not fair,” my heart screamed for the second time in one day, “why do the children have to suffer?”

And I understand again why God hates sin.

Another call. A close friend was unable to get home to her mother before she passed away. All she has are the stories of others who made it there in time to say goodbye.

So many friends and family members are struggling with illnesses and the spiritual attacks that accompany them.

The battlefield is fierce. It’s cruel. That’s why we need to dress appropriately. The Armor of God  (Ephesians 6:14-18) is an old lesson, one I learned as a child, but it’s a lesson I need to be reminded of often.

So as I step onto the battlefield, I ask myself:

Is my belt of truth firmly in place?                                                               

That wonderfully beneficial belt of truth has been given to me for a greater reason than to accessorize the rest of my outfit. The belt of truth holds my breastplate of righteousness and other war necessities firmly in place.

Are my feet properly covered with the Good News of Peace?                     

God knows the mountains I’ll have to climb today, the rocks that will be thrown into my path, the filth of this fallen world I might have to march through. And He has provided me with perfect footwear.

Am I safe behind my shield of faith?

I’m reminded that when Roman soldiers were on their knees, the shield covered them completely. My shield of faith stops the fiery darts fired by the evil one, and when I’m on my knees before God I am covered by the shield of faith He has given me.  

Is my helmet of salvation strapped firmly on my head?

I need the helmet to protect my mind, where battles are won or lost.

Finally, have I taken up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God?

What a powerful weapon of offense! God’s word is alive and working and sharper than a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12 NCV).

So, what are you wearing today?