Wage War Against Addiction

By Suzie Hardy
Guest Contributor
Recovery for Life
Transition Homes for Hope

Who I am in Christ 
I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one with my shield of faith.

Ephesians 6:10-18, New International Version (NIV) - The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

This passage talks about putting on the armor of God. When we think of armor, we think of a battle. Can you imagine someone going into battle without the proper gear? We have friends who are in the military. They have lots of gear that they must use when they go into battle. There are weapons to defend, protective gear that keeps them safe, as well as gear that helps them see things more clearly and focus more. All of these pieces of equipment are necessary for their protection and their ability to defend.

In this recovery journey we have struggles that seem like battles. We are waging a war against the enemy and we must have the proper equipment to defend, aid in our safety and help us in our focus.

Let's look at this armor and see what we can learn:

v. 14  "belt of truth buckled around your waist" - We know that in our recovery, secrets make us sick. We must put this belt of truth around our waist and be honest with God, ourselves and others.

v. 14 "with the breastplate of righteousness in place" - the breastplate was the protection for the heart. It kept them from getting killed by arrows. Our enemy wants to destroy us. He sends those fiery darts. We must ask God to protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. We must also note that it is not only a breastplate, but a breastplate of righteousness. In this walk we must do the right thing. Sometimes the only feasible thing to do is 'do the next right thing" We must take it one step at a time and be righteous...do the right thing.

v. 15 " and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" Shoes have to fit. Have you ever worn an ill-fitting pair of shoes. it is horrible pain and it is constantly on your mind. God wants our feet to be fitted with readiness that comes from peace. Readiness - We need to be ready for what the next step is in the process. The definition for readiness is "Prepared or available for service, action, or progress" How does God want our feet to be ready or prepared for service, action or progress?

v. 16 "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The shield was the defense and protection from the enemy. This breastplate of righteousness we mentioned earlier protects but is not used actively. The shield of faith goes one step further to protect, but we have that shield and can use it aggressively against the flaming arrows of the evil one. Faith is the basis for this shield. We might say I don't have faith...Hebrews 11 is a great passage that discusses faith. The people in that chapter were not perfect but their faith was rooted in God.

v.17 "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The last two pieces of equipment that God gives to us are the helmet of salvation and the sword of truth. Again the helmet of salvation protects the head from danger. Our salvation is our helmet. Then the final one is the sword of the Spirit...and is the Word of God. Our salvation comes from the word of God. We fight and defend our selves with our sword. That sword is the Word. We must make the word of God real in our lives. That means not only reading the Word but committing it to memory. Psalm 119:11 states" I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  The Word of God must be a part of our lives.

Are we ready for the battle? We cannot fight without armor. We must take the armor and put it on daily to fight against the evil one.

Suzie Hardy serves as ministry leader and event coordinator for Recovery for Life and Transition Homes for Hope ministries in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She has a heart to see lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and brought from despair and bondage into hope and freedom. She speaks and writes for the glory of God.