“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”
Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭10-18‬ ESV

“How can I deal with this?”
“What on earth can I do to cope?”
“I just can’t handle this anymore!”

And you’re right. You don’t have the capability to ‘deal with’ anything, to cope or ‘handle it’ on your own.
Sure, you may put on a good face for a little while. People may look at you and ask how it is you’re managing to do so well. And a little flattery like that may bolster you in the short run. But eventually, life catches up with you and weight gets to be too much.

Life can be sweet, but it also has plenty of moments where the struggle is too much to handle anymore.

The beautiful thing about following Christ is knowing that He never intended for us to carry -anything- on our own or to do anything solely from our very limited pool of resources and strength. Instead, God provides protection, guidance and strength through these different elements Paul is referring to here in Ephesians 6. Looking at what God has already provided, we find that we have been given a war chest fully stocked and powered by His great grace, mercy and love. He has provided wisdom and discernment and shows us how to respond to and be ready for the onslaught that will inevitably come our way.

We acknowledge that our struggle isn’t just physical, there is a spiritual component to everything we do. And in understanding this, we wrap His truth around ourselves. In doing this, we have a base layer of defense against all the lies and nonsense that life, sin and the enemy throw at us.
Having been wrapped tightly with the truth that guards us against everything that would distract us or cause us to drop our guard, we then find that righteousness protects our hearts and your innermost thoughts.

When we stand in the righteousness that God provides, we find that the arguments, deceptions, temptations and accusations of the world don’t have an opportunity to sink in and do damage. We will see clearly for what they are when we seek God & His righteousness as our covering. We will also find that the peace the Gospel brings allows us to be ready for any situation. The Gospel lends us a perspective that this world does not afford, we can see what really matters, and what is temporary or simply serves as a distraction. This most definitely brings peace, as we can see and discern (with the wisdom God affords) what our path needs to look like, and to know that His timing is perfect. He relieves our anxiety with this peace.

Again, like righteousness, faith protects us. When arguments and false accusations come our way, our faith in God provides us with an all-encompassing protection. Again, faith brings perspective, and in this perspective, we can judge what should pierce our hearts in the way of proper conviction and what is going to cause needless pain. Faith is our wall, our refuge, because it is in God, not in our own strength that we shelter. Our own shield is like tissue paper where His is granite. Our defense is. Limited where His is perfect and whole. Faith allows us to stand confidently even in the worst attack.

The salvation we have been afforded in Christ is our capstone. It is our assurance and it gives us the confidence to stand up and put our neck out there for Jesus. We understand that this life is temporary, and that the this we suffer today aren’t worth comparing to the glory that God will reveal in us for Himself in the end. Our salvation guards our mind against the worries of this life, and instead allows us the freedom to move and march out boldly for Christ, our Savior.

And as always, the Word of God is our sword, our offensive companion in every daily struggle and hardship. It is what allows us to stride forward through the thickest parts of battles both internal and external. It divides truth from fiction and lies from assurances. We must have the Word at our side at all times, Scripture will never let us down. It is always sharp, always revealing and always our greatest tool in any situation, so long as we trust in God’s truth at the core of our being. The sword is sharp cause of itself, not because of who wields it. It is sharp because it is a sword, not because of the power in the arm of the one who wields it. Trust in the Word.

And as we walk out, clothed in Christ and all He provides, we will find the task & commissioning to GoLove becomes much more doable because the resources we have all come from God and His strength, and not our own.