Don’t Let Somebody Else Wear Your Armor

So today this article is releasing on Halloween, and everybody will be wearing a costume in a few hours. We put on the costumes to look like something other than what we are. We take the place of or represent the likeness of another. It’s all in fun and in candy-gathering and all of that…and over the years certain costumes have been quite memorable. It’s not only enjoyable to dress up but it’s also very festive – it completes the purpose and intent of the holiday itself. We wear it temporarily, but the one we represent does not lose their identity. They are the original and true article, and we are the fake.

But then there was Saul. He let David wear his armor. Yes, Saul, the king and warrior, the one who was the hero of Israel! Goliath came and challenged the Israelites to a one-on-one duel and the champion of Israel sulked in his tent! The shepherd boy David came and couldn’t stand for a Philistine giant to mock the name of Jehovah and his people. But Saul could stand it. He gave his armor to David to wear – and even though David went on to battle without the armor he tried on, it was really in that moment that Saul lost his kingdom.

You see Saul didn’t have what David had. David was only a youth but he had great faith. He believed in God and he believed in God’s ability to use him. Saul was a man who struggled to fully obey the commandments of God. He was a man who easily got jealous or angry. He was head and shoulders above the people in stature but a miniature spiritually to a kid like David. Saul was a disappointment. He really didn’t deserve to wear the armor – he let somebody else fulfill the responsibility to which he had been assigned and which he by oath had accepted.

Don’t let somebody else wear your armor! If you are a father, be one. If you are a mother, be one. If you are a teacher, a mentor, a worker, a provider, a friend – then be one! The reason why our world is crumbling is because people have shed their responsibilities and have seated themselves in their tents and complained about the bad guy out there who taunts. In their inactivity and their empty words, people have chosen to be a part of the problem rather than becoming a part of the solution.

There was a time when men rose up with pride and went to battle for the things they held to be true. They battled giants on foreign fields and at home and in every situation one could imagine. Sometimes the enemy was physical and sometimes it was spiritual. But there was a resolve to put the armor on just the same and face it. And this is what made our nation and our communities and our churches great: people who faced the giants and depended on God for deliverance and while doing so gave Him all the glory for the victory.

It’s ok to pretend you’re someone you’re not on Halloween – but it’s not ok to let somebody else wear your armor on the other days. This is your battle. This is your time. The battle is today. Put on your armor! March into the valley in the name of Jehovah and fight!

“Harness the horses, and mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets, polish the spears, put on the armor! – Jeremiah 46:4

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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum