Wardrobe Essentials

Written by Maxine Holmgren

life_wardrobe One fashion magazine says hemlines are up, another says hemlines are down. One designer tells us the layered look is in for fall, but another insists the bulky look is obsolete. One fashion line shows neutral shades and another promotes bold color for the upcoming season. What’s a girl to do?

There’s one style that never changes. God tells us to clothe ourselves with His armor. It never rusts and it is always the perfect covering for whatever the day holds. Let’s take a closer look at Ephesians 6:10-18, the passage that describes our spiritual dress code.

The Living Bible reminds us of the reason we are to wear God’s protective armor: “So that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies–the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”

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Whew! That’s good enough reason for me! I want to put on every piece of that armor, don’t you?

The first piece is the girdle of truth, or the belt of truth, depending on which Bible translation you use. I like to think of it as the truth of God’s power encompassing me, surrounding me with God’s promises and holding me in place. In other words, I trust God to hold me together throughout the day. I will not become unraveled or torn apart by stress. His Word promises, “My God will meet all [my] needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). When I need peace or security, I just remind myself of that verse. Another favorite is Hebrews 13:6, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.”

Next, we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness, our Wonder Bra. For isn’t it a wonder that we are made righteous through Jesus? His act of obedience, dying on the cross on our behalf, puts us in right standing before God, cleansed and forgiven of sin. Ephesians 1:4 explains that we are “Holy in his eyes, without a single fault. We who stand before him, covered with his love” (TLB).

Then we are to put on our shoes. The King James version says, “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The Living Bible says, “Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God.” So let’s put on our Nikes and “Just do it!” We should always be ready to share the Good News of the gospel whenever possible and wherever God leads us.

We are given the “shield of faith” to stop the fiery arrows aimed at us by Satan. I like to imagine that my shield has the family crest on it. It tells the world that I belong to the family of God. The design of my family crest has been drawn in the blood of Jesus. Satan cannot penetrate that shield, as long as I hold it up before him.

Now that our bodies are protected, we need to protect our heads, too. We are told to put on the helmet of salvation. Funny thing about helmets, some of us don’t want to wear one. We think it will make us look funny. And we don’t want to get our hair messed up. We think if we’re careful, we can go through the day without falling down and getting hurt, so we don’t really need a helmet. But the whole suit of armor isn’t complete without the helmet of salvation. In fact, it is the most important part. None of the other pieces will work unless the helmet is in place. Faith in Jesus is our total covering.

This is our dress code for the day. But it isn’t a defensive dress only. Oh no, for now God puts in our hands the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” I like to think of it as a big, powerful sword, with jewels encrusted in the handle. With this in my hand, I go on the offense and drive the enemy out. When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus defeated him by answering him with Scripture. We can follow His example by arming ourselves with verses like “Resist the enemy and he will flee from you” (James 4:7) and “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

God encourages us to put on our armor daily with this promise from Ephesians 6:13 (TLB): “So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.” Victorious! And victory is always in fashion.