God has placed me at a Christian boarding school in Europe for my Junior & Senior years. Before I came, the youth group I attended had just gone through the full armor of God.
Eph 6:10-17 (NIV)' ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your 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 against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour 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 round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness &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.'
When my school year first started, the year's theme was announced: Stand Your Ground, and it was based off the armor of God, to defend ourselves against Satan's darts of deception and sin. Coincidence? I honestly don't think so. It took me weeks before I began to feel comfortable at the boarding school, and even now there's often times I can feel like I don't belong at here in Europe. We've read it in our Bibles, and we've heard pastors speak about it, that we more than often forget that God means us to actually apply it to our lives.
Standing your ground with the full armor of God means when someone picks on your for being a Christian, you stand your ground with the belt of truth. It might not be that drastic, but it could also mean defending a friend when people gossip behind their back, and telling them you can't talk about them, and walking away. It can also mean being the one to silence a group of friends, who are fighting. The toughest one is, in my opinion, the shield of faith, especially when you're surrounded by doubt. That's when the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit protects us.
Satan loves to attack us through our weaknesses, but if we surrender our lives to God, our God will remain faithful, and we can stand our ground in our faith, and in our Christian walk. God might even take you, a teen, to stand your ground in the midst of confusion...even in your community. Personally, he's shown me that even in Christian communities Satan will attack you, and that you will need to put on the full armor of God. Have you ever thought of the possibilities God do in your life if, instead of going with the flow emotionally and spiritually, you used God's power in you to protect yourself from Satan's arrows? God knew we'd face wars and struggles with Satan, his arch-enemy...or we'd not be given the armor of God, or the power of the Holy Spirit! Fight against the Devil! Take your stand. Here's an inspirational video with Paul Washer:
