Suit Up

I love “How I Met your Mother.” In its six seasons we have grown to love all the characters. Marshall and Lily’s super cute romance, Ted’s quest to find true love, Robin finding herself and Barney. Oh Barney. There is a lot we could say about Barney…but one thing I would never have imagined is learning a life lesson from Barney.

If you have ever watched the show you know that Barney has a “catch phrase.” Whenever Barney is going out, doing business or any other crazy scheme he comes up with, he shouts into the air, “Suit UP!”

I almost hate to admit it, but Barney is onto something. He suits up to be prepared for all situations. And we as Christians are called to “suit up” too.

Ephesians 6:13-19 calls us to put on the full armor of God, to suit up in the armor of God. And I have found that without the armor I am completely unready for what may come my way; including the devils schemes that Ephesians warns us about.
So how do we suit up? It is a daily choice. We need to physically and spiritually dress ourselves every day.

The Belt of Truth. Our truth comes from the word. If we are not in the word daily, studying, memorizing, absorbing, our pants will (almost literally) fall down when we are questioned.

The Breastplate of Righteousness. We are called to be righteous, to have a higher ethical standard. That will set us apart and guide us away from unrighteous and trying situations.

The Shield of Faith. Faith is hard and there are so many around us that are against what we believe. But we must continue to believe and have unfailing faith.

The Helmet of Salvation. Knowing and acting on the way, truth and life that comes from believing and knowing Jesus Christ as your savior.

The Sword of the Spirit. The word of God and understanding from the Holy Spirit.

And the final way we are called to “Suit Up”? To pray. Always pray. We are called to be alert, so along with the prayer we must always be listening to God.

These are not easy, but without the word, faith, salvation and the Holy Spirit, I know that I cannot witness about my faith, I cannot stand firm against temptation and I can easily walk away from my beliefs.

I have stumbled, I have stopped doing the things that keep me close to God, and in turn, I have messed up. I have regrets and wish I could have traveled back and told myself to hold firm, to find a Christian organization right away at college and to always read my bible.

But, I didn’t. But, luckily, we have a forgiving father. I can start a fresh with the knowledge I do have now and choose to “Suit Up” everyday.