Ephesians 6:11-12
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
In verse ten Paul rallies the troops and gives them a word to strengthen them to the battle, a word to ensure our trust in the power of the one we fight for. Verse eleven doesn't waste any time, Paul gets directly to the point; "Put on the whole armour of God." Don't wait, put it on know, for we know not at what hour the enemy may attack. He is "More subtil than any beast of the field,"[Genesis 3:1] We must suit up now because "The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" [1 Peter 5:8]. We must be ready at a moment's notice, being "Sober and vigilant." This armour is what is going to keep us standing in the evil day when satan deploys his wiles, or tricks, devices, subtility. I have seen many fall out of the battle because they relaxed, propped up their feet in what they thought was a time of peace and before they knew it Satan had deployed his evil forces when they least expected it, they had taken off the armour some time back. Dear reader, If we hope to stay in this fight we must"Put on the whole armour of God." Any day any moment, when it is least expected He can attack.
Satan is no gentlemen when it comes to warfare, he cares not if the fight is fair or not, actually he has a reputation of using subtility rather than strength. He has destroyed more men with trickery than a thousand armies have destroyed in their strength. These "wiles" are defined as methods, He has tricks and traps, devices of the human psyche, subtil conversations, ideas he plants in the minds of men like a foreign country plants spies and soldiers in its enemies armies and governments. He used subtility with Eve, with Christ, and certainly with us. If Satan was so bold an enemy to tempt Jesus then rest assured that he is confident enough that his devices will overcome us, and they would outside of the power of Christ. Few people ever deal with his strength because they never get past the onslaught of his subtility. Paul knew what it was to deal with Satan in his strength, he had "A messenger of Satan to buffet him." If you believe the Bible literally, as I do, this was a demon that would abuse Paul, mentally and spiritually. The encouraging bit is that he has never been able to launch an attack on one of God's children without permission from his authority, God. We see the horrible attack of his strength on Job, He was merciless and spared not anything or person, but before he could do anything God had to first let down the hedge. With Paul, he said, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." When Satan is allowed, yes allowed, to attack in his strength then rest assured that will be a measured attacked, some limits have been set by his authority, and there is a purpose and plan that works to the "good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."[Romans 8:28] When we deal with satan, remember that he has been dealt with first and there is a purpose for our being attacked, Romans 8:29 tells us that purpose "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." He is conforming us to the image of His Son, as Paul said in Philippians 3:10 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" If we suffer the onslaught of His attacks then we are in good company, so did Jesus, so did Paul and the Apostles. The time to be worried is when were aren't in the battle. Idle hands lead to idle thoughts that lead to idle action and we lose our vigilance. If we aren't currently engaged in the fight, then either we are so small a threat to his kingdom that we don't merit an attack, this is a horrible state to be in, or like a lion, satan is crouched down in the tall grass of life planning, waiting for just the right moment to pounce. If you want to stand in that day, then it is imperative to be suited up and sober, waiting and watching that we don't fall into temptation. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand."
According to the Riches of His Grace!