I come to you today after one of my most trying days at work. It wasn't so much the work itself, but rather my mindset towards the work. Have you ever heard the saying that whenever you feel the attack of the enemy, you must be doing something that the enemy doesn't like, and are probably on the brink of a huge blessing? Today was one of those days.
This was the first day that I prayed my prayer over the workplace, and as soon as I did, I began feeling attacked and the feeling lasted the whole day. My attitude was being tried constantly as more and more situations came up that were frustrating and stressful. I felt a steady attack on the battlefields of my mind and by the end of the day, I was starting to feel drained and defeated. I was feeling like I will never have the new attitude that I desire so much.
Tonight, as I sat down to think through what my task should be for today, I have been reminded of a little book I once started. I got the idea from someone a long while ago to create a little book of encouraging scriptures that I can read whenever I feel the need to get some strength from the Word. When I started to make up the book, I found an over-arching theme that felt fitting for the book. It was based on Ephesians 6, which talks about the armor of God:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
I feel a strong connection to this scripture and it reaches me for 3 reasons:
1) It acknowledges the battles that life brings us and doesn't sugar-coat it
2) It reminds us that those battles are not with the people who may seem to be causing them, but rather that it is a spiritual fight against principalities and spiritual powers.
3) It tells us how to win the battle!
My book took each of the parts of the armor and broke it down even further. I found scriptures that I felt related to each of the pieces of armor: truth, righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit of God. It stresses the shield of faith which would "quench all the fiery darts of the enemy", and coincidentally, that one area of focus for me during the fast.
Even though I found scriptures for all of the pieces of armor originally, I only completed faith and truth in the book and thus, lost all of the remaining scriptures. My task for today is to find scriptures for all of the other pieces of armor and to begin the process of completing that book. I may even start fresh and go a little more high-tech this time around with a professionally printed book. I want this to be something that I will actually carry with me, so that in times like these, I can find a quiet spot, open it up and get my mind right before continuing my day.
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