Inside Your Armour
What's inside counts most.
Do not be deceived; inside a saint’s armour you will not always find a warrior with a soft heart. It is possible for a wicked person with a heart of stone to be adorned with such gear. Joab was adorned with the same armour as David, but the ones heart was like flint, while the other was as fallow ground.
In Marks gospel we read, “And when he [Jesus] had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.” It grieves the heart of God because of the hardness of many of His children’s hearts. It is acceptable, even preferable, for a child of God to have a tough hide, but the Lord wants him or her with a tender heart.
Therefore, as the song goes, “Guard your heart.” Once the flesh enters the armour God has provided, it takes its heart of stone with it. Thus the outward battle against Satan, that old lion, is lost before it is begun; it becomes unwinnable.
A good heart behind God’s armour becomes like Bunyan’s Mr. Great Heart in his book, Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan writes of him, “Now, Mr. Great-heart was a strong man, so he was not afraid of a lion.”
by an Old Disciple
Very encouraging devotional. Thank you