“The Distant Triumph Song.” My previous devotion used that phrase from “For All the Saints” to speak about how distant the triumph of Jesus can seem in our day to day living. And I promised to share a solution God offers to help us continue to hear that song in our lives. Paul shared it in Ephesians 6.

Ephesians 6:10-18  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the whole 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. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around you waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 saints.

St. Paul says “be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes.”  As I wrote yesterday, Satan does not want you to hear that triumph song. Because you are involved in a battle, Paul is telling you to arm yourselves. With what? With the latest self-help book? With a financial advisor? With better medical and physical resources? No! Paul says that God is your strength for battle. Be strong in the lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God. He details the pieces of armor our gracious God provides to keep the triumph song alive in your life!

  • God’s truth is the belt around your waist, not the wisdom of this world.
  • Your heart is protected by the breastplate of righteousness, the righteousness that Christ won for you on Calvary. Let Satan try to condemn you for your sins.
  • Your feet are ready with the Gospel of peace. You go from battle to battle with the peace that comes from Christ’s triumph song.
  • In your daily battles you have the shield of faith to deflect whatever Satan hurls your way.
  • You have the glorious helmet of salvation, salvation today and forever with the triumphant Christ. This protects your mind from Satan’s assaults.

But you have more than just protective armor. You also have a sword, God’s Word. That is your daily weapon of offense. Paul does not describe the Christian as one who sits back and waits for the enemy to attack. Instead, you are on the offensive. With God’s Word you can unleash the power of the conquering Christ on the daily problems that Satan would like to use to work for your destruction. Listen to the full verse of Luther’s Reformation hymn that I used in part yesterday:

Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall no overpower us.
This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.
(The Lutheran Hymnal #262 stanza 3)

That “one little word” is Jesus! And these are the lyrics of a triumph song! They instill in you the courage to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. They give you to motivation to put on the full armor of God.

I’ll wrap this up with a few more thoughts on “the distant triumph song” tomorrow.