Welcome back to our Armor of God series, where we have been breaking down each piece of armor that the Lord has given us and learning how we can practically use them every day. Today, we'll be talking about the helmet of salvation!
Just like all of the other pieces of armor are crucial to our defense and offense against the enemy, the helmet of salvation is no different. The helmet protected a soldier's head - and without that, they could do nothing. It's obvious that if a person's head was damaged, the rest of the armor could not be used to its full potential, and therefore putting the soldier at great risk.
The same is with us.
Except, the thing protecting our head and mind is not a literal helmet, but our salvation.
Our salvation, our eternal safety and redemption bought with Christ's blood, is what guards our minds. It fills our mind with that which is the truth and pure (Philippians 4:8) and protects us from the enemy's lies. It renews our mind so that we can become discerning and transformed to look more like Him (Romans 12:2) and covers us in peace because we know that we are SECURE in Jesus' sacrifice.
Salvation is a free gift, with no prerequisites or requirements to receive. No one can take it away from us.
But the devil sure would like to try.
He tries to sneak thoughts in our mind in an attempt to convince us that we aren't good enough, that we're too far gone, and "salvation" isn't enough to cover how broken we are. Our enemy tries to make us think that we've worn out our welcome at the dinner table, that Jesus is tired of hearing our "I'm sorry"s, that our faith isn't strong enough to be a Christian, and that we don't know enough. He whispers lies about our identity and worth, tempting us to lean on anything else but our salvation for confidence and assurance.
Our salvation, however, declares grace upon grace for ourselves. It reminds us that Christ's sacrifice makes us worthy and valued, holy and redeemed, perfection in the eyes of the Almighty. It promises forgiveness for every mistake, new mercies every morning, and arms open wide no matter what failure. Our salvation creates a wall of protection around our mind, impenetrable by the devil's lies and attacks.
Because the reality is, our salvation, our security in eternity, was bought with blood. Jesus gave up His life so that we could live ours with peace and freedom, confident in a forever with Him and the Father.
That is what we are called to put on, every day.
We are to stand firm in what Jesus bought for us. To stand firm, we should refresh our heart continuously with His sacrifice and how much it cost. We need to remind ourselves the truth about who we are because of what He has done for us, what that means for our lives and our eternity. Our minds need to be fixed on Jesus, filled with Scripture, rejecting lies and doubts, focusing on things with eternal weight, not temporary.
This really is not a difficult concept, but man, it can be hard to implement. It's much easier to go, go, go and forget about the cross. We fall into this cycle often, but it often ends with desperation because the enemy has found an open, vulnerable spot to sneak in and start dropping lies. The moment our helmet isn't tightly fastened or even falls off is the moment where our mind is weakened, exposed to warfare and strategic attacks from the devil.
I want to take this moment to warn you about spiritual warfare targeted at our mind. The Lord is starting to reveal to me more and more clearly that we have an enemy, and he DOES try to attack us in subtle but detrimental ways. The anxiety and lies bouncing around my mind? That can be credited to the devil. The questions that sneak in? That can be credited to the devil. So much of my unrest, although not all of it, is fruit of the enemy and a tactic directly aimed at my peace and my salvation.
This is a very real battle, one that all Christians will face at some point in their journey (often multiple times, sometimes daily). Our mind is the greatest battlefield, and the devil would love to take over more territory. But our salvation, our security in the blood of Christ, declares that our mind belongs to the ALMIGHTY GOD, and nothing can take away our peace. This is why we must be rooted in our salvation. Without it, our mind is unprotected and we march into battle unprepared, and it's almost a guarantee that we will be shot down and weakened shortly after the battle begins. We can't hold our own, because we aren't even clinging to the gift that Jesus bought for us - the gift that cost us His life.
So, I think we understand how important putting this helmet of salvation is. But, the real question is: how do we use it? How do we put it on?
My mind and what I allow in it has been something that I've been reflecting on a lot lately. There are many anxious thoughts that try to make a home in my head, but it's my responsibility to kick them out. I have a say in what I allow to remain in my mind and what I meditate on, and I want to only allow thoughts that reflect the Lord's character and are rooted in my salvation.
As we wrap up here, what is your thought life currently like? Is your mind ravaged by lies and warfare, temptations and anxiety, or is your helmet securely on and wrapping you in peace? I'd challenge you to take some time to reflect on that personally and with the Lord. Allow Him to expose areas that you may not have recognized as a battle, and then lean on HIm for strength as you walk in victory.
What's something you learned from today's post? Are there any new strategies that you're going to implement? Let me know down in the comments below!
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