Our four-year-old, Kaleb, seems to be going through a bit of a phase lately. For some odd reason, he finds it exciting to undress himself and run free. The other day, after Kaleb's bath, I helped him get dressed. Then, he went into his bedroom to play. About five minutes later, Kaleb reemerged, without any clothes on like Tah-Dah!
*Insert blank, slightly confused stare here*
The sight of his frail frame hopping around ecstatically in his "Birthday Suit" was a bit off-putting and pretty hilarious at the same time. Still, for the life of me, I couldn't really understand why he was "streaking" through the house for no apparent reason. "Where are your clothes Kaleb?" I asked, just as any dutiful and rational mother would. I was sincerely trying to figure out what in the world was going on, while simultaneously struggling to stifle my laughter.
Well, the cat suddenly got a hold to Kaleb's tongue and he couldn't supply me with an answer addressing why he had chosen to strip down to nothing. He just sorta looked at me like, "What's the problem mom? I'm living the free life here!"
He had no explanation.
Of course, I wasn't looking for a profound dissertation or anything, but, you know, being able to provide some form of logic or reason behind this sudden decision might have helped. Putting two and two together for mommy would have been great.
Never happened.
So, after Kaleb came dancing out of his clothes like the biblical King David one too many times, his father and I decided we needed to have a talk with him. "Kaleb," we both said leaning in closely and looking this irrational, yet adorably cute little person in the eyes, "You have to keep your clothes on honey. You can't go running through the house without your clothes, OK?"
He cried like someone had beat him.
But, after he got over his evil parents' infringement on his mini-American freedoms, Kaleb did a little better yesterday. He kept on pretty much everything--well, except his shirt.
Then he told me, "Mommy, I'm cold."
Uh, yeah... ya think? We live in Buffalo. Spring does not necessarily equal warmth in this city. It can be a beautiful sunny day and something like 49 degrees... not that warm.
Clothes would really help.
Oddly, Kaleb hasn't made the correlation between his own nakedness and being a little nippy. He still can't see that opening himself up to the elements like that, has an affect on him, not just outdoors, but indoors too.
Sometimes, we can be just like little Kaleb in our spiritual walk with God. We fail to "get dressed" by doing what Ephesians 6:11-13 instructs us to do.
"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes. For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full
armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground..." (NIV)
You see, we can't run out into the world "naked," without God's covering, and expect to be protected from the enemy's devices. Daily, we're in a spiritual battle and we must remain fortified, so we can stand when the enemy is attacking us, because the attack will definitely come.
Unfortunately, many of us go through our day without our spiritual clothes on, and we wonder why Satan is wreaking havoc in our lives. We've got to stay prayed up, covered up under the shadow of God's wings, and prepared to fight.
We must understand that each time we get out of bed in the morning, there's a war being waged for our souls. The only way to win, is to do what the word of God says and "Put on the whole armor of God."
Let's not go "streaking" and then be surprised when the enemy defeats us and wears us down. Just like we know that Kaleb feels cold because he's undressed in climate that isn't conducive to nakedness, we too, must make the same correlation when it comes to our journey with the Father.
We can't strip down and not expect to get beat down. No wise soldier goes out on the front lines of battle without their armor on. If they ever did, they would surely be defeated.
Victorious living can only be known, experienced, and lived in the context of the word. Today, I admonish you to get dressed! Let God be your covering and you'll defeat the adversary every time.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
