Gear Up! - first written on 06/04/2020

 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

It is Monday, April 06, 2020 – and the time is 22:20

Going through this lockdown period, there are just some things that one gets to process and thoughts that come up to mind. The Scripture above came to mind today and got me thinking: what a time for this very word to be much more alive right now!

The whole world is indeed fighting against the invisible enemy called Coronavirus. An enemy we cannot see, touch, smell, and definitely cannot taste. We can’t tell if a person has been infected by the virus just by looking at them. And the virus just keeps spreading and spreading. Even the person infected can walk around for days without knowing that they have been infected, and a lot of times they will not know the exact time they got infected or even the person who infected them.

It is only when one sees the symptoms of the virus that they will seek medical help. And by the time they do, it could be that they, unknowingly, had also infected other people as well. And hence, we have been given the steps we can take to protect ourselves, washing of hands, the hand sanitizers, the masks, the gloves, and so forth. Medical personnel has been under the pressure of having to be brave and go and help the infected people. They can’t turn them away, even though this poses a risk to their own lives. They have to help the sick – but while doing so, they have to ensure that they are geared up in the best personal protective equipment that is available. The medical professional would not even dream of going to do the work without the right gear!

Now, it would be considered illegal for the practitioners to try and “eliminate/kill” the infected person, but their aim is to eliminate/kill the virus, at whatever cost.

This got me thinking; isn’t this what the Scripture has been telling us though? Sometimes we, unknowingly, walk around carrying so many ‘viruses/sicknesses’ in life. The virus/sickness of hate, greed, jealousy, bitterness, gossip, slander, anger, etc. These could be things that we have been carrying around since childhood, and a lot of times we do not even know where we first got ‘infected’. Or that we are even infected- to begin with- until we see the symptoms in ourselves or see them in others. Or others seeing these symptoms in us.

Each one of us has the potential to ‘infect’ others with our pains and heartaches just like we can also be ‘infected’ by theirs. There are a few lessons that we can learn from the Coronavirus situation.

1.    1. No one is immune to such infections

2.    2. There are things we can do to protect ourselves

3.    3. We can always lend a helping hand in the midst of the pain/heartache

See, the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:13 to “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm.” As children of God, we are constantly fighting against our invisible enemy, the devil. Sometimes we get mad at people for all the bad stuff they do to us, and we want to take revenge, while these people are mere “carriers” of the different things that seek to trip us up in our faith.

The questions we have to ask ourselves though are:

1.    1. How is my immune system? Do I have enough of God's Word inside of me that when - not if – the devil comes knocking at my door I will be able to "sanitize" myself for protection?

 2.    How is my PPE (personal protective clothing)? Am I geared up for victory? Do I daily put on the whole armor of God? We wouldn’t imagine any of the medical staff rocking up at work unprotected, would we? They would be signing up for their death sentence! Why would we then, as Christians, think that we could fight the enemy of our faith without the right protection?

 3.    Are we even fighting the right enemy? Medical personnel never fight with the virus carriers, they fight the virus itself! Hasn’t the devil kept us busy by blinding us into fighting the wrong enemy? God’s people, whom He loves so much and He created in His very own image? For as long as we – born again, Bible-believing, sanctified children of God – keep being offended by the actions of others, we will be fighting a losing battle. We need to fight with the spirit that is behind every attack, bearing in mind that some people have multiple diseases that they carry with them! And as we daily choose to walk with the Lord, it may require of us to give them dose after dose of grace! We need to keep loving people while fighting the enemy.

 4.    Could we also be, in some way or the other, be walking around with a virus? Do we have daily check-ins with the Lord to check how our walk is towards others? What does He say? Do we have safe relationships? Where, as soon as they see the symptoms of sickness, they will call us aside and offer help? Are we those kinds of people, who love others in their weakness; with a love whose end goal is to win them to the Lord (if they don’t know Him yet), or a love that will stir up the faith of those who do know Him?

Remember, do not attack the carrier, attack the virus! 

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.1 Peter 5:8