Helmet
WORD PICTURE: HELMET
Scriptural Reference: Ephesians 6:13-20
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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 1ake the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
1. Using a helmet (motorcycle, construction, football, or other of your choice) share the quip that “Life is hard -- wear a helmet.” Then have someone(s) read the scripture from various translations.
2. Once I heard a sermon that one of God’s primary goals is for His people to turn to Him. He wants to show Himself strong in our lives. The helmet in the armor is just one part of His guidance about how we can be safe, blessed, protected, and stand strong.
3. My sharing, offered to spark sharing by others.
What I Shared
I liked something someone sent me over the internet one day that said, “The turtle only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.” This somehow reminded me about the helmet, so wearing my helmet, I’m going to go ahead and stick my neck out. My example is based on a job I once had. I worked at a museum where my values, those of a practicing Christian, seemed to be at odds with the rest of the staff. I felt that they valued the artistic objects in the museum as much as, if not more than, the “truths” those objects could elicit in the observer. I, on the other hand, felt that the greatest value of this museum was in the “eureka” moments that young (and old) ,people could experience from visits to the museum.
So, how did I use God’s helmet in this situation? First, I used the half-hour commute to pray to put on the full armor of God. I knew that if I could recognize ungodly thoughts as they entered my head, and then stop them at the threshold of my mind, I could capture them then. Upon arriving in the parking lot, I’d get out a devotional reader and reflect on the reading for the day. I would wait until I was sure that I had the mind of Christ and that I was fully armored before going in to work. Therefore, I’d be able to handle whatever came my way as soon as I entered the door. I prayed silently for each of my co-workers by name intentionally every day at home, too.
As I look back, I am grateful that I obeyed God and “put on” the whole armor every day I walked in -- but particularly the helmet because, in my opinion, the battle is won or lost at the threshold of the mind. Can anyone relate?
All Scripture references from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV).
Copyright by Whitney McKendree Moore, March 2007