Shells


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
February 27, 2008

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. -Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

What is a shell? To simplify it, it is the exterior skeleton of an animal called a mollusk. There are many kinds of mollusks that produce many types of shells. One just has to walk along the beach to see just a sample of the wide variety of shells that are made by these animals. The shells are actually composed from the calcium found in the mollusks diet and the water they live in. A mollusk depends on its shell to provide accommodation and protection. Some shells are designed to make it easy to burrow into the sandy bottom of the ocean. Others are ridged, which helps them to set anchor in special places. Colors, shapes, spines and ridges all contribute to the ability of the shell to camouflage its appearance from predators. The mollusk couldn’t exist without its protective armor.

If we could only take refuge in a shell once in a while! There is good news! God provides protection over us and one way is by putting on the full armor of God each day. But why do we need his armor? Too often we are exposed to spiritual battles where darkness reigns. These battles can manifest themselves in many different ways, like attacking us with temptations, creating emotional turmoil and overwhelming us with negative thoughts. Setbacks, offenses and doubts can overtake us. These are all the flaming arrows of the evil one. He is a predator. He will distort our perspective, upset our lives and relationships, create discontent and place strongholds on us that keeps us from our focus and from living in the shadow of God. So what can we do to resist him? We can put on the whole armor of God. If God is for us, who can be against us? Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feel 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. Ephesians 6:14-17 NIV But what does this mean to put on the whole armor of God? It means that we believe God’s truth and not Satan’s lies. That we know that God loves us and there is no room for self doubts. He protects our hearts and our emotions. That we should be ready and willing to spread the gospel whenever we can. Every little action or statement towards witnessing adds up and God will work through us to bring light into someone’s darkness. That we have faith to see God’s hand in every thing, and that certainly includes His gift to us of salvation. He gives us a weapon to fight these battles with and it is His Word. Let us enlarge our prayers to include suiting up with the armor of God each day. We never want to be without it. It is ours for the asking