The Amazonian piranha is an extremely vicious fish with a powerful bite. The three-striped cory is a slow, passive catfish, which only grows 1 to 2 inches long. At first glance, one would assume that the little cory would be an easy meal for a piranha. That would be a false assumption.
The three-striped cory is equipped with a very specialized armor, in the form of scales made of collagen and mineral. Rather than being brittle, the scales are flexible, allowing the fish to be bitten by piranhas several times without being wounded. Researchers have witnessed the small, but tough, fish being chomped on 10-12 times before a piranha finally gives up and swims away.
While we’re in this world, we’re constantly surrounded by Satan and his agents, who constantly bite at us with a barrage of efforts to spiritually wound and ultimately, destroy us.
For our protection, we have divinely-fashioned, specialized armor designed to thwart those biting attacks (Ephesians 6:12).
Satan and his agents attack our heads by constantly attempting to plant seeds of doubt for our spiritual condition. Wearing the helmet of salvation protects us from those attacks. 1 John 5:13 reminds us that the Word of God provides a way for us to know for sure that we have eternal life.
1 Peter 4:1 serves as a warning about the dangers of being deceived by the false teachings of demons. Wearing the belt of truth protects us from those continuous attacks.
Satan and his evil forces never stop trying to render the Christian’s heart numb and unfeeling (1 Peter 4:2). The breastplate of righteousness will keep our hearts protected, allowing us to remain spiritually right.
The wicked one attacks the spiritually vulnerable areas of a Christian’s life by inundating us with flaming darts (Ephesians 6:16). Our shield of faith will save our souls from those attacks (Ephesians 2:8).
In order to spread the Gospel wherever we go, we’re going to need to be wearing the shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Satan and his evil forces will put many potential distractions and snares in our path, but being ready to preach the word “in season and out of season” will keep us safely marching through life (2 Timothy 4:2).
The spiritual war between the Christian and spiritual forces will only be won when the Christian carries–and learns how to wield the “divinelypowerful (2 Corinthians 10:4)” Sword of the Spirit.
Although Satan and his agents will continue to bite, wearing all of this specialized armor (Ephesians 6:11), all of the time, will prevent the Christian from being devoured (1 Peter 5:8).
-Troy Albers
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