Peace In The Middle Of The Fight

Peace in the Middle of the Fight

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

Ephesians 6:14-15

I confess that I have never been in a fight—well, maybe a bit of pushing and pulling in my childhood with my siblings, but nothing along the order of a full-blown brawl. Yet Paul warned the Christians of Ephesus that they would find themselves in the mother of all battles. They would, he assured them, be assailed by the “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world” (Ephesians 6:12). Urging the Ephesians to stand firm in the Lord, Paul told them not once but three times to put on all the armor of God. Of course, the emphasis on all makes sense because missing even a single item of armor would make them vulnerable to the thrusts and jabs of the enemy.

Hailing from the second-largest city in the Roman Empire, the Ephesians would have been familiar with Roman armor. In addition to speaking of a “belt of truth,” a “shield of faith,” “salvation as your helmet,” and “the sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians 6, Paul also speaks of putting on peace as though it were shoes that will prepare us to spread the gospel of peace. One commentator argues that Paul was talking about the Roman caliga, a leather half-boot that left the toes free, enabling a soldier to move quickly with a firm grip.

Here’s how Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s words in The Message: “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life” (Ephesians 6:12-17).

Today, let’s thank God for providing us with everything we need to enter into battle. And let’s remember to put on every piece of armor he has so graciously supplied.

Lord, show me how to stand firm, applying the peace you give so I can fight the good fight of faith in the strength that you give.