Stay Covered

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." – Ephesians 6:11

Have you ever played paintball? It’s a game where you shoot each other with paintballs flying over 100 mph. They leave welts and bruises, and if you get hit, you’re out. It’s simple, but it’s also a great lesson about staying covered.

I remember playing paintball at a student conference. There are two kinds of guys who play paintball. The first group walks out there like they’re invincible, barely wearing anything for protection. They want to show off their wounds and brag about how tough they are. Then there are guys like me. I was raiding the lost and found, looking for anything to stuff under my shirt. By the time I stepped onto the field, I was so padded I could barely move.

But there was one problem. My goggles started fogging up, and I couldn’t see a thing. I was stuck behind a tree, trying to follow the rule of never taking your mask off. Suddenly, a worker tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “Who are you?” I told him, and he said, “I don’t care who you are, get off the field.”

I was confused and frustrated. Then he said, “You’ve been shot 47 times.” I couldn’t believe it. I was so focused on keeping my mask on and staying behind cover that I didn’t even realize I was getting hit. The layers of padding I had stacked up numbed me from feeling the impact.

Here’s the point. You have an enemy who’s coming at you from every angle. The devil doesn’t fight fair. He’ll attack you in the areas you aren’t paying attention to. He’s looking for every weakness, every opening, and he’s relentless. And if you aren’t covered by the armor of God, those attacks will take you down.

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” If you aren’t intentional about being covered by God’s truth, righteousness, faith, and His Word, you’ll be an easy target. You might not even realize you’re getting hit until you’re already down.

You can’t just walk through life unprotected. You need to stay covered. Be intentional about putting on the armor of God every day. Because when you are truly covered by Him, the enemy’s attacks won’t have the same power over you.