The Counterfeit Armor - Part III

The third piece of armor that Paul instructs us to put on is shoes of peace. Why do we put on shoes? Because we are going somewhere. As Christians we must walk our faith out everyday, so Satan will try to keep us from walking the path of peace by occupying our time with other things. That's Satan's counterfeit shoes - preoccupation. When I looked up the word preoccupation in the dictionary here is what I found, "completely engrossed in thought; absorbed; previously occupied; taken; filled." The enemy wants to keep you engrossed in thought and absorbed in things other than the will of the Father. He wants to fill your day, your thoughts, your attitude with his thoughts and attitudes. Think about that definition, "previously occupied" he wants to get you distracted with the routine and the mundane before you fill up with the word of God. If he can start you on the path of preoccupation at the beginning of your day, he knows he is well on his way to stealing your peace before the day is over. Psalms 119:165 says, "Great peace have they who love your law and nothing can make them stumble." I just love that verse. It gives me hope that if I keep myself immersed in the word of God and OBEY it then nothing can make me stumble. If we love the word of God then we will want to obey it and when we obey it we will have great peace. I am convinced that most Christians have Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder. For some reason we cannot keep our focus fixed on Christ. We tend to burn hot or cold according to our circumstances and feelings. That is not the path to peace. Scripture tells us that a double-minded (wo)man is unstable in all her ways, so it stands to reason that we won't be able to walk the path of peace with regularity when we are constantly diverting our attention away from Christ. Many things can set us on a path of preoccupation - our job, our family, our struggles, our finances, our circumstances, but ONE thing will keep us on the path of peace - fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Ephesians 2:14 says, "for He (Jesus) Himself is our peace." Peace is attainable in this crazy world! It's attainable through a person - Jesus. As He increases in your life so will your peace. The cure for spiritual ADD is the word of God. Remember Psalms 119:165. It's the key to not just peace but great peace. Could you use some great peace today? Then spend some time with the Prince of Peace reading his Word to you.