Most, if not all of us, have seen the Rocky movies. In the first film(s), we are introduced to his trainer, Mickey. He was a former Bantamweights fighter who managed the gym Rocky would sometimes go to train at. Mickey saw something in Rocky that he knew training, conditioning, and discipline would make him the best fighter ever, but Rocky felt like he did not need anyone’s help, a modern-day know-it-all, and most of the time it was because of his stubbornness and pride. Today, I’d like to discuss how the Holy Spirit is life’s daily trainer.
Upon accepting Christ into our hearts, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us and grants us access to the Father. The Holy Spirit perceives us differently from how others or even we see ourselves, envisioning our potential and what God can accomplish through us if we yield to His guidance and training. The Holy Spirit is like our personal trainer, teaching us the best techniques and defenses to overcome life’s challenges, battles, and struggles. In Ephesians 6:11-13, the Bible advises us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” What exactly is this armor for battling our spiritual foes? Let’s delve into that.
- Ephesians 6:14 – Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. Truth here speaks of the Truth of God’s word. As long as we are girded in the Truth we will always walk firm, secure and confident.
- Ephesians 6:14b – having put on the breastplate of righteousness. The Breastplate of Righteousness guards our hearts because from it flows the issues of life (Prov 4:23) Our hearts are like storehouses and what is in them will eventually come out in how we talk or in our actions.
- Ephesians 6:15 – and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Jesus is our Prince of Peace who is the Word made flesh. As we condition our minds and hearts through God’s Word, we will also receive His peace and it will permeate into the lives of all those we are around during the day. Our husbands, children, co-workers, and even our bosses.
- Ephesians 6:16 – above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. When we accepted Christ into our lives we were all given a portion of faith. We must exercise it the same way Rocky did when he prepared for a fight. Each battle we go through in the Lord is to condition us for the next battle, giving us speed, defense, punching force, self-discipline, footwork, intelligence, grit, and accuracy. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)
- Ephesians 6:17 – And take the helmet of salvation. This means changing our mindset with the word of God, reminding ourselves that we are God’s children in an army, that has a Captain leading us to complete Victory!
- Ephesians 6:17b – and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The Word of God is final! But there are two ways we can use it. In Matthew 4:3-4, Jesus was led by The Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, when He physically was hungry because he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then Satan came to tempt him telling Him “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to turn to bread.” And Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” Satan came against Jesus trying to use His word against Him to deceive Him, but Jesus used it with Faith causing the devil to flee.
- Ephesians 6:18 – praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Prayer is our communication with our Trainer. He tells us what strategy to use against our contender and we follow His lead until we have complete Victory.
Many want to win the battle without any preparation, but in all things, we must have self-discipline and train correctly. Rocky felt he did not need Mickey to win this fight and thought he could win with his ways and tactics. However, when he finally surrendered, he realized he did not know anything about boxing at all. The only way we are guaranteed victory against our spiritual enemy is to surrender and allow ourselves to be trained and disciplined by God’s Holy Spirit.