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My 16 year-old nephew, Matthew, plays ice hockey for his school and other leagues. I had the pleasure of going to some of his games and was impressed by his speed on the ice and thrilled when he scored goals for his team.

Before every game, Matthew religiously puts on at least 10 pounds of protective covering. He wears a helmet, mouth guard, gloves, shoulder, elbow and knee pads, and a special pad that covers his midsection to his knees.

“I would get hurt really badly if I don’t protect myself,” he said.

Matthew puts on his protective wear without second guessing if he needs to wear it before practice or a game. “I will not play hockey unless I put on my helmet and other stuff,” he said.

In our everyday lives when we are running from one thing to another, how do we protect ourselves from the dark forces that can trap and bind us?

In Ephesians 6:11, while in prison in Rome, the apostle Paul writes, “You must wear all the armor that the Lord gives to protect you. Then you can stand against the evil attacks of the Devil.”

There are days when we feel that we are going into battle with others. Some battles we know about and others come as a surprise when we least expect them. When we wear God’s armor, we are protected and even the surprise battles don’t affect us.

Paul goes on to say, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your 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.”

Matthew shared a story about one of his teammates who forgot to wear his elbow pads. “The puck went flying and hit him on his elbow and because he didn’t wear his elbow pads, he got hurt and couldn’t play,” Matthew said.

Without God’s protective shield, we will get hurt and lose battles with temptations, addictions and anything that is not of God.

Paul also advises the people to be strong in the Lord. We cannot be strong in the Lord unless we depend on God to make us strong. We can only be strong when we are united with God and God’s ways.

The style of the armor each person chooses will be as varied as the destiny God has laid out for them.

Some of us wear our faith colorful, while others drape themselves in more traditional ways. The
essential thing to realize is that God does not intend for any of us to be powerless.

The forces of evil are prevalent in this world. At times, these forces try to lead us to places of darkness and we may feel as if there is no hope. As Christians we must be prepared for battles that come our way every day. As Matthew knows, it’s time to suit up.

Christine Kumar is a project
manager for the Baltimore-Washington Conference.