Preparation

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. Ephesians 6:11

Picking blackberries can be a painful undertaking if you're not prepared for what you might face. It would be nice if they are all located along an easy to access trail or path but my experience has been the opposite. Many of the places where I find the best berries are covered with high weeds, thorn bushes and crabapple trees. It can be an adventure just reaching the place where I want to pick.

With that in mind I have some preparing to do before I go into the field, especially when it comes to what I wear. Over the years I have developed a berry picking "armor" I wear when I know reaching the berries will be a challenge.

The first thing I do is put on a light t-shirt and blue jeans. I then put on my high leather hiking boots tucking in my pant legs to prevent then from getting wet, especially in the morning when the dew is heavy. All of this is just the beginning.

After the first layer of clothes I put on a second, heavier layer. A long sleeve heavy denim shirt will help keep the scratches off my arms. I also have a pair of heavy brush chaps I put over my jeans to help keep thorns out of my legs.

The final touches include a pair of fingerless leather motorcycle riding gloves to prevent scratches on the back of my hands and a hat to keep the flies off my head. After a spray or two of a good bug repellent, I'm ready to go.

I must be sight for someone who happens to be walking by but that doesn't bother me. This outfit has reduced scratches, embedded thorns and bug bites over the years and made the task at hand a bit more tolerable.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul makes sure the readers understand that they have some preparation to do for the spiritual struggles ahead. Since we are spiritual beings first, how we fight this battle affects our physical well being and peace of mind.

Paul encourages them to put on the full armor of God since, in reality, the battle belongs to the Lord. We can stand when we are armored with his truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Spirit. In addition, as Paul points out, our primary weapon in this struggle is prayer. As a soldier needs to stay in constant communication with headquarters, so do we need to stay in constant communication with God.


There is one addition I think that needs to be made to this armor. What Paul describes is the covering a soldier puts on or the things he carries, such as a belt, a breastplate, shoes, helmet, shield and sword. Other than the shoes (I don't think wore socks!), everything else would go on top of the clothes the soldier was wearing. I think a person is best outfitted for battle when they are clothed with humility.

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul extols the virtue of humility. In chapter 2 he writes, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves (vs. 3)." He goes on to hold up Jesus as the perfect example of a warrior for God clothed with humility and that our attitude should be the same as his.

As a berry picker I know the importance of preparing myself for the task at hand, of dressing to protect myself from what I might run into. The same is true for anyone who wants to serve God in this life. We too have to make preparations, to clothe ourselves in humility and the armor of God, if we are to be successful in doing what we are called to do.


Up next: Preparation Part 2