Stand

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Ephesians 6:10-18. The King James version reads as follows:

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Notice that there is much work to be done on our part. Armour is heavy and cumbersome to put on. My boys love watching this video depicting the above verses. It kind of gives you a sense for the work one must put into actually putting on their armour.

But I noticed something this last time that I studied these verses. And maybe this information won’t be new to you, but I had an “aha!” moment. In the verses above, Paul is telling us what we must do to be protected against “spiritual wickedness in high places.” Protected against. Notice he doesn’t tell us we need to fight against. In fact, that is never stated. The only thing he says is we need to put on this armour and stand. Stand. That’s it, just stand. We have so much work to do just to protect ourselves and stand. And the one offensive weapon we are given is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Do you see? In the above verses Paul is telling us that we still have work to do, we still have to protect and defend ourselves, but the fight is not ours. The Lord will fight our battles for us. And we see this in many instances throughout the scriptures. Look at Joshua and the battle of Jericho, or Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel, or more recently Zion’s Camp.

It is so relieving to know that the fight, the offensive fight, is not ours as long as we have done our part. But we must do our part and do it well so that we have the protection we need and the Spirit with us to guide us. I can not get the words of President Russell M. Nelson out of my head from this most recent conference of the LDS church. He said:

“Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you–even miracles–will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

I am optimistic about the future. It will be filled with opportunities for each of us to progress, contribute, and take the gospel to every corner of the earth. But I am also not naive about the days ahead. We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation. [I]n coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

You can read, listen to, or watch his full talk here. I highly recommend it.

As a mom, I am finding that revelation from the Lord is more and more necessary as my kids grow older. I am on my knees daily seeking His guidance, often multiple times a day. When I’m following the above counsel to feast upon the scriptures, pray, and keep the commandments with a pure heart, I find the blessings and answers flow into my life. What a gift to be directly connected to, watched over and protected by, and given answers and blessings from a loving Father in Heaven who knows so much better than I how to bless my children.

My only battle is with myself, fighting against the “natural man”, fighting to do the things which will provide the protection I need. I may not be perfect, I may not even be all that strong, but I’m strong enough to put on my armour and stand. Any other battles that may come can thankfully be left to the Lord.