Ready for the Cold (Friday Devotional)

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

- Ephesians 6:13-17

It’s been unusually important this past week, as temperatures have plunged below freezing and the wind chill has settled into the single digits, to dress appropriately. Coats, gloves, hats—all the winter wear that spends 50 weeks of the year stored in a corner of your closet made a triumphant return this week. The weather demanded that you be properly attired just to step outside.

I learned that lesson the hard way on Wednesday morning. Realizing I needed something from my car, I thought about what I was wearing—a T-shirt, gym shorts, and nothing on my feet—and did a quick cost-benefit analysis regarding whether or not to change clothes. On the one hand, it was 25 degrees outside, and I was dressed for a day at the beach. On the other, changing clothes would take me longer than the actual act of retrieving what I needed from my car. I chose the lazy way and rushed outside without changing. When I rushed back in a minute later, shivering and looking for socks to put on my freezing feet, it was obvious I’d made the wrong choice. I may have thought I’d be fine without winter clothes, but I’d underestimated just how vulnerable I was without it.

In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul describes a different kind of clothing, the metaphorical “armor of God,” the spiritual raiment we need to withstand the trials of this world. He encourages believers to clothe themselves in truth, righteousness, salvation, and whatever will equip them to proclaim the gospel; he urges them to be armed with faith and the Word of God. All of these together, he says, will help you stand against the darkness of the world.

The trouble comes when we start making the same mistake I did Wednesday—wearing the spiritual armor we find most comfortable while leaving other parts behind in the name of ease, convenience, or downright laziness. It’s tempting to gird ourselves with faith but leave the demands of righteousness behind, to charge forward ready to proclaim the gospel but do so without having spent time in God’s Word. When you do that, you find yourself realizing exactly what I did on Wednesday: the world is a colder place that you thought.

Paul’s word to the church is to take up the “whole armor of God,” not just the parts that come easiest to you. Spiritual raiment isn’t about what fits best or looks most attractive, but about protection from sin, darkness, and hopelessness. As you go out into the world, may you arm yourself with all God has to offer, fully equipped to face what comes.