The Hope of Salvation

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” niv  Ephesians 6:17

The heavy demands of being a single parent was highly underrated as was the unfair difference in wages favoring the opposite sex. I had left an abusive marriage and moved next door to my mother. My lifestyle revolved around raising my 3 sons and working as a hairstylist.  There was too much on my plate and everything began to cave in on me. Who was I anyway? Having never known my father and why didn’t he care? I believed in God, but where did I stand in His eyes? I was searching for acceptance and love in all the wrong places. It was Easter time and filled with despair I started to cry. I’d felt I messed up my life beyond repair. I picked up the Bible my mother had given to me. As I began to read, I felt hope rising up inside my heart! I discovered I was loved! And forgiven too! I learned there were other people just like me in the Bible! When I knelt before my Father God I emptied myself completely out and was Born again in 1973 and I have never been the same since. Though young in the Lord, I became active in church and also attended college. Any extra time for myself were cherished long hours into the night studying God’s word. I eagerly passed down this saturation to my sons and my cup has never stopped running over.

One night after the boys were in bed and I was getting ready to retire I heard the floorboards crack under the linoleum from footsteps coming from the kitchen. We lived in a large doublewide mobile home that wasn’t put together very well.  They did not have a lemon law like they do today, but we had a roof over our head and I was thankful as it served a purpose.  Welcome to the real Florida! This is the one you don’t see on a postcard. We lived off dirt roads. If you didn’t drive fast enough down them, invariably you’d get stuck. During rainy season, you always got stuck unless you owned a truck. We had Palmetto bushes instead of Palm trees, dirty sand instead of white sand, snakes looking into our windows while hanging from trees [no joke!], spiders with large bodies and big eyes that followed you, roaches big enough to pull your trailer, alligators and wild hogs instead of dolphins and sandpipers. We also had our fair share of “wannabe cowboys” who shot off their guns in the middle of the night on only 2-4 acres and because voices travel in the stillness of the night; I could hear the screaming and hot tempered threats of young couples punching each other out and then, the sirens. A popular high school coach once said: “The worse kids and the best kids come from that area.”   

Part of my heart felt as if it was beating in my throat, as I peeked down the dark hallway and saw the refrigerator light go on as someone opened the door!  I was bewildered! What was going on? Why would anyone break in and open our refrigerator? I knew the kids were safely in bed. Without a doubt I knew there was an intruder! Daringly I yelled, “Whoever you are, leave now or I will call the police!” In one single nano second, I knew this was a very stupid reaction because the phone was where he was at, not in my bedroom! Lesson one: “bluff not!” No extension and certainly no cellphones in those days. People do strange [and unthinking] things when they feel like they are backed up against a wall. I heard my oldest son Sean who was about 14 at the time, asking me if I wanted him to jump out the window and go to our neighbor for help. I crossed the hall urging him to be a little bit more quiet and to stay put because I did not know what we were dealing with.

I cannot describe how I was fighting my vivid imagination how evil men could be surrounding our small place.  

It was then, I felt a rush of faith enter my spirit as I told Sean, “I’m going down the hall and face this, in the name of Jesus! I must see who this is and what is going on!” [We did not have any guns in the house]  Sean boldly declared, “I’m going to follow you mom” and he picked up a baseball bat, together we started down the long hallway.

When we passed the kitchen and looked around, we saw nothing; until I looked on the floor in the living room and there was a strange man sprawled out on the floor. The smell of whiskey was unmistakable. Still offended, I pushed the man with my foot, telling him to get up! As he slowly got up, I told him to sit down! Bluntly, I asked him why he broke into our home? I told Sean to go get my Bible. I wanted to sober this man up. Not having coffee, I gave “Bo” a cup of tea. Sean knew who the man was, he was a Vietnam vet, whose mind was scarred from the war. I then vaguely recalled seeing him walk the country roads. He told me that he had gotten our place mixed up with his place. I was not sure I believed him [but he did open the fridge door as if he lived there].  Bo was a loner and had a dangerous reputation of chasing kids around the lake with a machete and even setting off bombs.  Our house was easy to “break into” nothing was secure. I did the best I could with what I had at the time. 

Now sitting across from each other, I asked Bo if he realized how blessed he was? If he had walked into any other house he would have been shot! As he started to sober up, he began to confide in the agony of being separated from his wife and children. I could see the weight of his heaviness and understood his heartache could be the reason why he drank. We prayed together for a reuniting of his family. I told him that I believed that angels had brought him to our house so he could hear the gospel! Into the wee hours of the morning he listened, asked questions and then we prayed again. Around 3:30 am he finally opened the door to walk home. I told him he was welcome to come over anytime, but always knock! And, if he ever wanted to go to church with us, to let me know. He kept to himself and I never had a problem with him again. Later, I did hear rumors that he was back with his family.

“Faith goes up the stairs and into the room and out the window that hope has made.”  Bill Pearce

I related this experience for you to have an idea of how fear tried to instill panic inside of me. But I resisted it in hope, that my faith in God would bring me through, and He did. It was God who worked it all out for good so Bo could hear the gospel. 

The above verse tells us to take the helmet of salvation. The word helmet in the greek means hope. Take the hope of salvation. Embracing hope strengthens our heart and increases our faith. We please God when we put our trust in Him.

The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Bible further says that we have our hope in the Word. 

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105 

We hear what God is saying when we read and study his word. We grow and mature. His will for our lives is a never ending process as our character is transformed into that new creature in Christ. His will becomes our will. His word guides us into a deeper walk. We are given wise solutions on how to fight the battles that come up in our lives, this is one reason why the Word is called a double-edged sword.

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  He. 4:12 

God’s word is living. All life breathes, does it not?  The very breath of God goes deep inside of us as it divides and conquers what needs to be cut and separated. We cannot see our soul or spirit, nor can we see our joints or the marrow in our bones. One breath of God’s Spirit is used to examine our deepest motives and reasonings inside of our hearts. He sees our other side. He knows what is behind our ambitions and our words.

Every tiny cell we have in our body works to glorify God in a myriad of ways because it was He who created us, for His glory. And, He said it was good. 

We have a big big God. Have you ever thought of the possibility that some of the atoms we breathe could be some of the atoms that Jesus and his disciples breathed while on earth? What a mind-blowing thought. 

For every problem we go through, there is a storehouse of solutions for us to apply in the Bible. We are truly Overcomers and literally have it all. 

Let’s Pray:

Precious Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving us before we knew you. Your love increases our faith and restores our soul. You gave us a new heart. You’ve given us so many benefits by forgiving our sins and redeeming us, we become overwhelmed with your goodness. Your compassion and mercies overflow around the earth.  You fill us up with good things and even renew our youth like an eagles if we wait upon you and your will in our lives. Help us to listen to your voice Father. Our desire is to please you with good thoughts and obedient behavior. We call you Father, there is no one like you on earth. We look for your son Jesus Christ’s coming. Prepare our hearts for this time Lord. Make us ready to be that glorious bride in you, pure and without spot or blemish. We trust in you completely and purposely put down any hinderances of the old man that would interfere with our growth. Thank you Lord

We ask that you would continue to watch over our President and his family, his cabinet and all those who work closely with him. We ask that your ministering angels would continue to guard him over the things he eats, while he rests, going and coming, while he works, through other people’s tongues and those that scheme against him. We ask together that you would keep giving him the wisdom and knowledge to always be 5 steps ahead of his accusers, in a wise deal and that he would have the discerning eyes of an eagle. Give him deep understanding when you send godly counselors to minister your word. We ask that his face would continue to be as bold as flint and he would continue to be unwavering in his beliefs and prove to be a mighty workman upon your behalf. Father we ask for this man to be vindicated. We pray that when the storms come, they would run off of his back like water upon a ducks back. We ask that you would drawn him and his wife into a closer union in you. We ask that everything they do would reflect your will, your glory and the power of your strength. We ask for a transparency in their lives, so all can see that Jesus is Lord of Lords.   Thank you Lord. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. 

Next Ep. 6:18