Armor

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6

As I sat alone with God this morning, we had our usual conversation. I grumbled about how dark it was outside, and how tired I was . . . then my sleepy half dreaming thoughts hit the pages of my journal. I don't remember now what I wrote, but I do remember making a solid decision for the day that lie ahead.

You know those aha moments with God, where He will shed light on something you have read a million times? It is almost like the text jumps off of the page and hits you right between the eyes.

While following along with my yearly reading plan, I stumbled upon a quite a gem while reading Hebrews 11. It is sometimes referred to as the faith chapter. The familiar words wrapped themselves around my heart like a warm blanket, making the wee hours of the morning more inviting. When I got to chapter six, my eyes halted. There was so much in that one sentence - certainly enough to fill a whole life's journey not to mention the next 24 hours.

There has been this little struggle on the inside of my heart, that challenges my trust in God. I will see the devastation of somebody else's circumstances . . . or the world hunger crisis . . . or a friend getting the flu, and then there seems to be this little chip that appears in my armor. After a day of ministering to folks that come through the office, I guess you could say I find myself pretty beat up. Without my shield of faith in place those fiery darts have a field day, always hitting me where it counts.

"Taking up the shield of faith, with which I can extinguish every fiery arrow of the evil one." I recite this every single morning as I shower, including every other piece of armor found in Ephesians 6. I never really thought about it before, but my faith is a really big part of keeping myself protected from the evil one.

I walked out of the house this morning, not looking to solve the world's hunger crisis. I was not planning on writing the next best seller (although that would be a hoot), nor did I have my heart set on becoming any kind of a hero.

One slow and steady step at a time, I was making the choice to live by faith. That simple but complicated decision is more than enough for this girl's plate.

Today I am thankful for the Armor of God. Stay suited up fellow warrior . . . according to God's Word - our faith is enough.