So that it may turn out well for you

Galatians 6 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), ³ so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.

⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵ Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; ⁶ not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. ⁷ With goodwill render service, as to the Lord, and not to people, ⁸ knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

⁹ And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints, ¹⁹ and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

²¹ Now, so that you also may know about my circumstances as to what I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.

²³ Peace be to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

Today’s text says: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.  If earthly children are to be obedient to their parents, that it may turn out well, how much more should we, as God’s children, be obedient to our heavenly Father so that things go well for us?  In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 God says:  “See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, in that I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and take possession of it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him.”  We have a choice of whether or not we will obey our Father. We cannot though blame God for the consequences of our disobedience. It is not God’s fault if it does not go well for us.  In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”  We choose abundance or death and destruction by our choice of who we will obey.

The text says: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit.  The devil’s schemes are all to try to have us choose to disobey God. His first scheme convinced Adam and Eve to disobey and he continues, with his schemes to this day. It is vital that we recognize the first thing we are told to put on in order to stand against the devil. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth.  In John 17:15-17, when Jesus prayed for His disciples and for us, on the night that He was betrayed, He said: “…I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth…”  The devil wants us to question whether or not God’s word is true. More than just true, God’s word is truth. It is the very plumbline by which everything is measured. The world has believed the lie that truth is relative; that each person can have their own truth. Whatever is not in alignment with the plumbline of God’s word is not truth. More even than just putting on God’s word, in John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  When we put on truth, we actually clothe ourselves in Christ. That leads us to the second part of our armor, the breastplate of righteousness. The devil will remind us of our own deeds and failures, but we need to remind him that we are in Christ and God sees us according to His righteousness.  It says we are to stand, having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace. In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  Romans 16:20 says: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  It says:  In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Our faith shields us because it is not a matter of the size of our faith, but rather the object of our faith. We need only a small amount of faith in the greatness of God and in Christ’s victory over the devil. The helmet of salvation guards our mind with the truth that nothing the devil can do to us, not even death, can separate us from God. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the truth, is our offensive weapon against the schemes and the lies of the devil.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. Your word is truth. You are truth. I choose to stand in truth, with You. I choose obedience to You. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I stand against the devil’s schemes. I walk in Your peace, knowing that nothing the devil can say or do can separate me from Your love.   Amen.