The Range Officer yelled out the command “Stand Down!” Upon hearing
the command, the men in the target range lowered their weapons. He
explained during their training that when he gives the “stand down”
order, it does not mean to lay your weapon down. Quite the contrary.
When one is in the “stand down” position, he must stay alert. There must
be a Range Officer present at all times when the target range is open.
It is his responsibility to secure the area and give complete
instructions before allowing anyone to practice shooting, so everyone
will be safe.
This was described by my friend who had her first target range experience.
This description stimulated my writer’s mind to formulate this
analogy comparing God to the range officer. God, our range officer,
commanded very similar requests to us in Ephesians six, the section
which is entitled, The Protection for Believers, The Armor of God. In
this section of the Bible, which is only seven verses long, Paul gives
this instruction:
1. Stand against the devil’s schemes.
2. Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground.
3. After you have done everything stand.
4. Stand firm!
We go through life feeling fearful, anxious, worried or overwhelmed,
asking “why is this happening to me?” That question could be answered
with a question like “where is your armor of God?” Is it in a pile on
the floor? The word of God is the sword of the Spirit; it is either in
your hand or lying around collecting dust. It is the only offensive
weapon in our armor.
“With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV).
Praying daily and putting on the full armor of God can be likened to
going to the target range, having the range officer present and
realizing we must never put our weapons down, but “Stand Down” instead.
PRAYER: Dear God, I confess that at times I lay my armor down. Please
forgive me. Help me to be reminded that I need to put on the full armor
of God daily.
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord-and he will delight in the fear of
the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2-3 NIV).
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