SUIT UP

Each night as I prepare for the next day, I begin strategically to plan so that I can be ready for the challenges that lie before me the next morning. I know the kids are going to wake up and want to sleep just a “few” extra minutes so I prep as much as I can in advance. I routinely set out the girls’ clothes and begin pressing them. By getting all our attire out and in place, I convince myself that it will be easier to get up and get started the next morning. I’m sure many other mother’s reading this understand my thought process! I then make sure the girls have their computers charged, their hair accessories, water bottles, back packs and of course their lunches and shoes ready to go. If it is a PE day, my youngest child will remind me that she needs something "stretchy" so she can run fast. For myself, I make sure I have my stethoscope, badge, otoscope, and my work jacket pressed. I don't want to get to work and be missing any of those items because then I'm not prepared for the patients, I’ll be seeing that day.  I also want my children to be set up for success with a good night of sleep, breakfast and all the supplies they need for the school day. As I prepped the other night, I began thinking about how we get up and start our day facing the world as "Christians".  I wonder if we start our day, planning to be prepared for the attack of the enemy? The scripture tells us that the devil is our adversary. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Every day, the enemy is planning his attack on us and our family. He has planned how he might trap us or trip us up on our walk with God. He knows our goal is to make it to heaven and it is his greatest desire to hinder us from achieving this goal. I began to think about this in greater depth that night as I prepped for the next day.  I began to ask myself "what do I do each morning to be sure I leave the house "Suited up" in my gear to face the attack of Satan. Am I putting the same amount of energy setting myself up for spiritual success that I do for my earthly success? The scripture tells us to "put on the whole armor of God". We are to put on the Helmet of Salvation, The Sword of the Spirit, The Breastplate of Righteousness, and our loins are to be gird up with Truth. I worked many years in the trauma areas of the hospital, and I know first-hand the value of a helmet when it comes to protecting one’s brain from injury while riding bikes etc. Salvation should be an automatic part of our attire each morning. It protects us as we go about our daily business. The breastplate of righteousness keeps the darts and bullets of the enemy from penetrating the skin and causing deep wounds, injury or even death. I would compare it to a “bullet proof vest”. With Righteousness, our chances of survival are greatly increased. The Sword of the Spirit is our personal weapon that allows us to fight back against temptations and evils. Jesus uses scripture when He was tempted by Satan. It’s a weapon for us as well as a light unto our path. The word will always be true, and we help us to not be deceived by the enemy. This thought is quite simple “Suit Up”, yet I think overcoming trials and temptations would be easier if the moment we woke up, we put our spiritual amour on. How may you ask? Let’s begin by waking up and quoting the word over our life and family. Today, I began to speak, “If God be for me, who can be against me”. I challenge us to allow the Spirit to fill us with a renewing as we drive to our job or begin to think about the things God has done in our life while we make our first cup of coffee. If we do this, I know our faith will begin to rise before we even start our day. Think about this, the scripture says, "taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked". We should start our day off proclaiming our faith in God and encouraging ourselves in the mighty things we have seen God do before we even get to our first hour of work or our first period of class. I believe if we would strategically suit up each morning, that we would defeat the enemy easier. I encourage you to think about this as you start each day. "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" with you each morning as you start the day.