Dodge Ball

Children’s games.
We have all played them.
That is where we learned about rules and taking turns; about winning and losing.

Games like: Hide and Seek, Mother, May I, Red Light-Green Light and Tag.
Monkey in the Middle, which I enjoyed as I grew taller, and of course Dodge Ball.

Dodge Ball had its own challenges and rules of conduct.
No aiming for the head.
No hitting below the belt.
There are certain areas that were fine to hit, and certain areas that were off limits.

There are official rules to the game of Dodge Ball.
The most fun, however, was a typical pick-up game.
One team throws the balls and the other team is the object of the throws.

You have to be quick when you are in the center and the balls are being thrown at you.
You have to dart out of the way and flex your back so that the ball misses you.
You can jump over a ball or duck under a ball.
Basically you can do anything you need to do so you will not get hit.

It is not an easy game, particularly when the balls keep coming at you.
Many tears are shed when young children play the game.
They may feign an injury just so their “getting out” is justified.

Believers, those who are in Christ, play a sort of Dodge Ball each day.
The one doing the throwing is the enemy of our souls.
The enemy does not throw balls but rather flaming arrows.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6: 10-18)

The flaming arrows of the evil one come at us much like a game of Dodge Ball.
We try to dart out of the way and flex our back so that the arrow misses us.
We can try to jump over an arrow or duck under one, but the flames present a problem.

The enemy is relentless in his attacks.
Sometimes they hit you head on.
Sometimes the blow comes at the hand of a friend.
Often the attacks come in rapid-fire succession, without much chance to breathe.

The armor of God must be put on to protect us from the evil one.
When we are told to take up the shield of faith, it is not a small shield.
The shield that was used in this type of warfare was a full-body shield.
It was usually made of leather that was wet so it could extinguish the flaming arrows.

Can you hear the sizzle?
The flaming arrow is coming right at you and you hold up your full-body shield.
You are protected; you are covered.
The flaming arrow hits the wet leather and is immediately extinguished.

The enemy plays Dodge Ball with flaming arrows.
It is not a game; it is for real.
Left on our own to fend for ourselves, we are helpless.
In Christ, with the armor of God protecting us, we can stand.

In Christ, the attacks from the enemy will still come at us.
In fact, sometimes the attacks are even more pronounced.
If we were being ineffective for the Kingdom, the enemy would leave us alone.
When we are effective for God’s Kingdom we are a threat to the enemy of our souls.

Even though the Shield of Faith is a full-body shield, it is only in the front of us.
We cannot, even for a moment, turn our backs on the enemy.
We must face him head on, protected, fortified, and able to stand.

The enemy has various tactics to attack us: some subtle, some at the hand of a friend.
Jesus knew that kind of attack well: the Judas kiss; the wounds from the hands of a friend.

In Christ, we are not defenseless.
We are fortified and protected as we face the enemy head on.
No need to dart, or flex, or run away in our own strength.
We only need to stand in HIS strength.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

STAND!
The attacks will inevitably come, but in Christ we are protected with God’s armor.