March 19th - The Sword

“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

(Ephesians 6:17)

Today, let’s look at our last physical piece of armor, our sword, which is clearly defined as the word of God. This image is repeated again in Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing events the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Sharper than a two-edged sword. That’s powerful!

Out of our 6 physical pieces of armor — our belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword — the sword is the only piece that can be used for offense. The rest is for defense. This tells us God takes our protection seriously, so WE should take our protection seriously. It has been provided to us, so we are foolish not to use it. Why? Because the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8) AMP.

We would also be well-advised to follow Jesus’ example when He effectively fought Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. As described in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, Jesus responded to each of Satan’s temptations with “It is written…”, quoting the Word. God Himself quoted the Word, who could have destroyed Satan with just one breath! How much more should we value His Word, our powerful weapon of the sword of truth.

Interestingly, the ever-clever Satan took note and quoted Scripture in the last of his temptations, so he is also aware of the Word. We shouldn’t be surprised then when the Word gets misquoted and misapplied. It is all part of our adversary’s clever schemes. All the more reason to keep our swords sharpened by diligent, deep study of God’s Holy Word. Let’s thank the Lord for giving us the powerful weapon of His Word, and ask Him to create an insatiable hunger and thirst for more of it in our daily lives. May we see it as our only source of truth to counter the devil’s lies.

Today’s Action:

Let’s read Proverbs 19 together with a teachable spirit, willing to receive and apply the instruction and correction it offers.

“Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27)