Lord's Mighty Power

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ~ Ephesians 6:10

We've heard it said before, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood." But how do we deal with that when we see another human in our face about some matter? How do we see beyond the "ugliness" and into the pain? There are two things we must do. 1) Ask the Lord for discernment and enlightenment of our eyes. "Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance," (Ecclesiastes 8:1). The Book of James tells us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him," (1:5). When God opens our eyes to see things as He sees them, we are less likely to judge some one's actions because we can see straight to the pain that's in their heart.

2) Be dressed for success. "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," (Ephesians 6:10-11). This passage tells us not to worry about fighting anything or anyone on our own, because the Lord is already strong and we can rest in the power that He has. But to "dress for success," we must prepare our attire. For example, when you see news clips about soldiers in foreign lands, you never see them dressed as if they are going to a pool party. That's because they're dressed for success; they're dressed for war. And that's exactly how we need to dress.

Our enemy is not the person who is in our face all the time. Our enemy is the devil and he will use as many tricks and schemes as he can muster to get people to hurt you. He does this because that is who he is, as the Bible tells us, "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy," (John 10:10). He doesn't want you to have the joy and the peace and the rest the God has promised you. He wants to win and he will use whatever or whomever he can to make that happen. But we have something better. We have Jesus who said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full," (John 10:10). He also promised us that while the devil will be up to his schemes and tricks, we can take comfort in Jesus, who said, "I have overcome the world," (John 16:33). Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.