ARMOR.

Lift my head, and help me take up this shield of faith. My heart will yield to your face, your desires, and your truth as your steal away every ounce of my pride. It's the fear you take when I call your name in which the enemy stakes his claim in our lives. That fear is shattered when perfect love arrives, its tenants prescribing the revolution of denying self. This belt of truth buckled around my waist swelters under the burning heat of Spirit fire. It squelches ambiguity and denial and self-preservation. The intensity I felt upon its first placement was unlike anything else, the sensations unveiling a melted, mutated mess of what used to be masked selfishness. Now it's readiness that my feet are fitted with, a form fit previously unforeseen, uncovered by the beauty and wonder of the gospel of peace. I take it to the streets, battling the enemy while looking for many an unfamiliar face, standing firm in grace, and knowing I have the breastplate of righteousness set in place. My identity is secure in the One who stands in the gap, giving me breath, watching my back. I stand for Him because of and by that which He stands for me: His power, honor, and glory. He understands my weakness, and He longs to grant me meekness and understanding. So He hands me some strands of wisdom when I ask for it, seeking more preparedness for my flesh to be slain by the sword of the Spirit; for my heart and soul to be equipped by the Word 'til the end, 'til the win is imminent. Until then, I'm led by the wind that spins me where I am to live, protected beneath the sturdy  everlasting helmet of salvation. I'm God's forever with His cleansing, His redeeming, His forgiveness, and His bleeding: His saving love, His sinless life, His grace that suffices, and His perfect sacrifice. In full armor in the Spirit I pray. Alert and on guard, I lift up the saints: those in Christ Jesus I can't even see, who have on God's armor and are part of His family; the ones I won't meet on this side of Heaven, the brothers and sisters laying their lives down with insistence for the Name that is above every other name, that gives sight to the blind and new legs to the lame. We walk in one accord, for we can't afford to forget that there's one love, one life, by one Lord. It's He who creates, sustains, saves, and maintains. He lifts up our heads, gives to the weak His amazing strength, and covers us with the armor that empowers us to stand and proclaim grace.