Gaps in the Armour

Sometimes faith looks like standing between the arrows and the people you love.

I had a vivid picture of that during a worship set at Momentum Festival.

Momentum is a summer Christian festival, and the worship gatherings take place in a huge tent packed with people standing close together.

But at that moment, Kima, my wife, was sitting on the ground to my left.

And my brother Tom was sitting on the ground to my right.

So physically, I was standing between them.

My arms were out to each side.

Almost instinctively.

And as I stood there, something began to form in my mind’s eye.

In my left hand, I could see a shield.

In my right hand, I could see a sword.

Suddenly, the posture made sense.

If arrows were coming towards us, the shield on my left could protect Kima.

And the sword in my right hand could defend Tom.

I wasn’t standing there just for myself.

I was standing for them.

Physically, I was just standing in a worship tent.

But in my mind, I could see arrows flying overhead.

And I could see myself intercepting them.

That picture immediately brought to mind Paul’s words in Ephesians:

Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:11

Paul doesn’t say charge.

He doesn’t say conquer.

He says stand.

The Christian life is often less about advancing.

And more about holding the ground God has already given you.

Interestingly, that picture hasn’t remained a one-off moment.

In subsequent worship times, I’ve been reminded again of what I’m holding.

A shield.

And a sword.

Almost like a quiet reminder from God:

This is how you stand.

The Armour Is Provided

Before any soldier puts on armour, the armour must first be provided.

A soldier doesn’t forge his own helmet on the battlefield.

The armour is issued by the king.

The same is true spiritually.

Paul doesn’t say build your armour.

He says:

Put on the full armour of God.

It is God’s armour.

Truth.

Righteousness.

Peace.

Faith.

Salvation.

The Word of God.

Before the battle begins, the provision already exists.

That matters.

Because faith does not begin with striving.

It begins with receiving.

The armour is not something we manufacture through willpower.

It is something God provides through grace.

Truth is available.

Righteousness is available.

Peace is available.

Faith is available.

Salvation is secure.

God’s Word has already been spoken.

The question is not whether God has provided what we need.

The question is whether we are actually wearing it.

Wearing What God Has Given

Putting on the armour is not just a ritual.

It is a posture.

It begins with recognising what God has already given.

Gratitude comes first.

Before you fight, you remember.

God has not left you exposed.

God has not sent you into battle empty-handed.

God has already provided what you need to stand.

But wearing the armour also requires belief.

You have to believe the armour actually works.

Paul doesn’t say the shield might deflect some arrows.

He says it extinguishes all the flaming darts of the enemy.

Faith is not pretending the arrows are not real.

Faith is trusting that what God has given you is stronger than what is coming against you.

And the armour only works if we live it.

You do not just admire truth.

You live it.

You do not just talk about righteousness.

You pursue it.

You do not just believe in peace.

You stand in it.

When what we believe, what we say and how we live begin to align, the gaps start to close.

Putting on the armour looks like this:

Recognising what God has given.

Trusting its power.

Living it out.

Gratitude.

Faith.

Integrity.

When those three things are present, the armour is no longer theoretical.

It becomes something you actually stand in.

The Enemy Aims for the Gaps

Imagine a knight in full armour.

The helmet is thick.

The breastplate is strong.

The shield is solid.

But no suit of armour is seamless.

There are small openings where the pieces connect.

Around the joints.

Around the neck.

Around the visor.

That is where the enemy aims.

Not at the strongest metal.

At the gaps.

The armour of God works together in the same way.

Truth guards our thinking.

Righteousness guards our heart.

Peace stabilises our footing.

Faith extinguishes the arrows.

Salvation protects the mind.

The Word allows us to respond.

But the real strength comes when all of it works together.

When truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Word align, the gaps close.

But when one area is neglected, a gap can form.

A gap in truth.

A gap in faith.

A gap in identity.

A gap in peace.

A gap in integrity.

And the enemy rarely needs to destroy the whole suit of armour.

He just needs to find the opening.

The place where we are not living what we say we believe.

The place where fear has become louder than faith.

The place where lies have gone unchallenged.

The place where peace has been surrendered.

The place where compromise has started to feel normal.

That is where the arrows come.

The Real Battlefield

This pattern appears throughout Scripture.

When David arrived at the battlefield where Goliath was taunting Israel, everyone saw the same giant.

David’s brother Eliab saw the problem.

David saw something else.

David’s brother saw the giant.

David saw God.

And David didn’t just think it.

He said it out loud.

Standing in front of Goliath, he declared:

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.

1 Samuel 17:45

That is remarkable courage.

David was not denying the size of the giant.

He was declaring the size of his God.

David’s brother lost the battle at the thought of Goliath.

David won the battle at the thought of God.

Courage grows when your view of God becomes bigger than your view of the problem.

The same pattern appears again and again.

Peter walked on water while his eyes were fixed on Jesus.

But when his attention shifted to the wind and waves, he began to sink.

The storm did not change.

Peter’s focus did.

And when Moses sent twelve spies into the promised land, they all saw the same reality.

Giants.

Fortified cities.

A daunting challenge.

Ten spies returned convinced defeat was inevitable.

But Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants and reached a different conclusion.

If the Lord is with us, we can take the land.

The difference was not the land.

It was the voice they listened to.

That is often where the battle begins.

Not around us.

Within us.

In what we believe.

In what we focus on.

In what we allow to become louder than God.

Storms grow bigger when we stare at them.

Giants grow bigger when we measure ourselves against them.

Both shrink when we remember who stands with us.

Standing for Others

That picture at Momentum still stays with me.

Shield raised.

Sword ready.

Standing.

Kima on my left.

Tom on my right.

And me standing between them and the arrows.

Sometimes standing in the armour is not just about protecting your own life.

Sometimes it is about protecting those God has placed beside you.

Your family.

Your friends.

Your calling.

Your influence.

Your home.

Your church.

Your community.

Faith is not only personal.

It is protective.

There are people connected to your obedience.

There are people strengthened by your faith.

There are people sheltered by your prayers.

There are people who benefit when you keep standing.

That does not mean we become saviours.

Only Jesus saves.

But it does mean we take seriously the territory God has entrusted to us.

We do not stand in arrogance.

We stand in faith.

We do not stand because we are strong in ourselves.

We stand because God has provided the armour.

Closing the Gaps

The enemy rarely defeats believers through overwhelming force.

He looks for the gaps.

Gaps in truth.

Gaps in faith.

Gaps in identity.

Gaps in peace.

Gaps in integrity.

But when God’s provision is received, the armour is worn, and the pieces work together, the gaps close.

And when the gaps close, the arrows lose their power.

But only if the armour is worn.

So the question becomes:

What territory has God entrusted to you?

And are there any gaps in the armour?

Reflection Questions

Discuss

For personal reflection, small groups or Christian Union discussions

Use these questions to pause, reflect and respond to what God may be highlighting in your life.

• Where do you feel God has called you to stand right now, even if nothing appears to be moving forward?

• Which part of the armour of God do you most need to receive and wear more intentionally in this season?

• Where might there be a gap between what you believe, what you say and how you are currently living?

• What arrows have you been allowing to land because fear, compromise or a lie has gone unchallenged?

• Who has God placed beside you that may be strengthened by your faith, prayers and obedience?

Take a moment to write something down or share with someone. The gaps begin to close when faith becomes something you practise.