There are a lot of Bible verses that show us God wants us to be happy and peaceful. Today we will focus on one portion of scripture – Ephesians Chapter 6 vs. 10-17.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

1) Verse 10 the Bible tells us to be strong. If God tells us to be strong, it must mean that it is possible to be strong. If we are not strong, the ones is on us to find out what is causing the weakness.

2) Part of being strong is staying strong. We know that there are forces (visible and invisible) that try to weaken us. Verse 11 tells us to put on armour. And why? It says, “so we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes”. Yes, the devil is a real entity (See Verse 12). He will use any way he can to trip us up in life. He can use people in our life and circumstances to weigh us down so life is hard. God wants us to be aware of the devils tricks so we can maintain our peace and happiness, so life is good. Notice that God tells us to put on the full armour. Putting on only part of the armour will leave us open to spiritual injury, and ultimately weaken us.

3) Verse 13 again tells us to put on the full armour of God. And why? So that we can stand our ground when evil comes our way. It is important to note when the Bible repeats a statement. Twice now it has told us to “Put on the armour of God.” This shows us the importance on doing what it says. Put on that armour!

4) The first piece of armour the Bible lists is the Belt of Truth. This can mean we should always be sure to believe Truth, and not lies. Quite often stress comes on us because we are believing lies. If we can’t figure what lies we might be believing, we can speak to someone who is mature in their Christian walk. They may be able to help us identify lies that are affecting us.

5) The next piece of armour is the Breastplate of Righteousness. This can mean the awareness of what the Blood of Jesus that flowed from him when he was being assaulted and ultimately crucified. When we acknowledge the blood of Jesus and believe that his blood paid the penalty of our sin, then the devil can’t slow us down with guilt. If we do sin, then we quickly acknowledge it and ask God to forgive us because of the blood that Jesus shed for our sin. We exchange our sinful behaviour with the righteousness that is ours through Jesus Christ. This gives us a fresh start to try again to live a life that honours God. If we are having difficulty living a good life that pleases God, get help. Don’t lose precious time fumbling on your own.

6) The next piece of armour is shoes – readiness shoes. The Bible says we should always be ready to give an account to others about why we have peace of mind, and optimism. It is because we have given our lives to God through Jesus. And we know that God can bring good out of any trial we may be going through. Saturating ourselves in God’s Word helps us keep our mind positive and optimistic. With Christ’a help, “We’ve got this!”

7) The next piece of armour is the Shield of Faith. Faith helps us quench the flaming arrows (problems) that try to deter us in our life’s journey. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Thus the more we hear Bible teaching, or we hear ourselves speak God’s Word, the stronger our Faith will be. So, be a spiritual ‘weight-lifter’ – hear God’s Word throughout your day. Your faith will be strong!

8) The next piece of armour is the Helmet of Salvation. By saturating our minds in God’s truths, we maintain our assurance that one day we will be given a heavenly home to spend eternity with Jesus and our other brothers and sisters who have received the gift of salvation through belief in Jesus and his sacrifice for us. It keeps us happy and hopeful!

9) Finally we have the Sword of Spirit, which is the Word of God. God wants us to know the Bible well so we can know how to use it as a sharp sword and ‘cut up’ the lies of the devil. The devil will try to trick us but we cut through his lies with the truth. The Bible says, And you will know the truth and truth will set you free. Indeed it does!

There you have it. This is one of the clearest portions of scripture that show us we should be strong and happy. Don’t settle for less. Start your journey today to find great peace and happiness. Call us today.