Coffee - preparing for a different sort of battle

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:11-13

It’s 5 something o’clock on a Friday. The week has been difficult and I drink a cup of coffee and try to catch up on some news.  The news reports show a world in utter disaster. Hurricanes, floods, death. One catastrophe after another after another. 

My little world consists of coffee and putting one step in front of another today.  The last thing I think about is preparing for battle as I review my schedule for this day.  I just want to get through the day. 

God wants me to prepare a little differently for my day. It’s not a big change to my schedule, but it is a change.  He wants my attention. If I choose not to give Him my attention, I will still make it through the day but at what cost?

When God tells us to prepare for battle against evil forces, he is commanding that we remind ourselves of who God is and what He stands for. When we walk out the door to do whatever Friday has for us, God commands His everyday warriors (you and me), in our jeans and flip flops, to prepare for a battle we cannot even see.  The enemy is unseen and the only weapon we have to fight with is a heart that is tuned to God’s word.  It’s a battle that man’s logic cannot comprehend.  Yet the battle is real and lives depend on it.  Those lives include your own family.  The fight is worth it. Every day. 

So coffee time - let me introduce God to this moment.  A decent Daily Bible verse and maybe a few minutes reading the verses on either side of that verse. Possibly a prayer to remind myself that today is another day of worship. Not just work and a little more work.  Some kindness and gentleness in the hectic world plays an important role for this warrior.  It can only come from one place - a warrior’s heart that knows Jesus.