Who's Got Your Back?

Therefore put on the full armor of God...the belt of truth buckled around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...the shield of faith...the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Ephesians 6:13-17

This guy has his armor on at all times. He's never vulnerable or defenseless. When trouble comes, he just draws in his head and limbs and hunkers down.

It's not that way for us. We have to choose to put on the armor of God every day. 

I’m pretty lax with my protection. Most days, I go about my business totally unprepared for an attack. But God’s Word tells us that our enemy is always on the alert for a chance to strike. 

When we put it on, His armor covers us from head to toe:

• The helmet of salvation protects our minds from Satan’s lies and confusion.
• The breastplate of righteousness guards our hearts – our emotions – from fear and anxiety.
• The belt of truth strengthens our resolve.
• The shield of faith, in one hand, intercepts Satan’s darts.
• The sword of the Spirit, in the other hand, is our only weapon: God’s Word.
• The gospel of peace gives our feet a firm place to stand.                                                            

But there’s something about this armor I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out by my good friend, Mary Scro. In one of her blog posts, she said that God’s armor doesn't cover our backs.

The breastplate covers our chests but our backs are left vulnerable.

We hold the shield of faith in front but our backs are unguarded.

We grip the sword of the Spirit but we can’t hold it behind us and be very effective.

Satan can creep up and catch us completely defenseless.

Did God deliberately leave us open and exposed?

Who stands behind us to protect us?

As the family of believers, we have each other’s backs.

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and pray for a friend? You are protecting your friend’s back.

Does someone’s name ever cross your mind, seemingly out of nowhere, and you feel prompted to pray for them? You are standing guard behind that person. 

As a engineer at Johnson Space Center, I worked for three years with the Columbia crew. On the morning of February 2nd, 2003, Columbia disintegrated as it returned from orbit. I was working in the Science Center that morning. The rest of the day was a nightmare. Somehow, I managed to stay calm and work through all that needed to be done to secure the data and reports. Several weeks later an acquaintance from church came up to me and told me that, at 3 a.m. on that horrible day, she woke up with a strong desire to pray for me. She prayed for over an hour. She and I both know that God called on her to guard my back. Her prayers protected me from being overcome by sorrow and gave me the strength to do my work.

That's the way it is with family. 

We've got one another's backs.

When has God used another believer to stand guard behind you? How did that bless you?