The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 38
Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God
And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
– Ephesians 6:17
My struggle with anxiety, depression and eating disorders began in my early adolescence. I had already committed my life to the Lord as a child so I cultivated a life of worship unto God. My only desires were to know Jesus intimately, and to be like Him – to love and have compassion like Jesus did. Yet, I struggled in secret and silence, plagued by mental ill health. As a youth, I realized that what I was experiencing was beyond my ability to help myself so I reached out to the Pastor’s wife at the Church I attended at the time. It was a bold step for me given the fact that I had trust issues. Before I was finished expressing to her what I was grappling with, she cut me off and said to me, “that’s because you are not praying enough.” At that moment I tuned out so whatever else she said I didn’t hear. I felt judged and condemned. How dare her tell me that I am not praying enough when that was furthest from the truth. All I knew to do was to pray, worship and read my Bible. At that moment I decided that I will never again talk to anyone else about the struggles I had. From then on, I carried the guilt of betraying myself by talking to her in the first place. I blamed myself for what she said to me because had I not gone to her and shared my challenges then she would not have had the chance to say that to me. It bothered me for a very long time. Then one early morning while praying about it, a Scripture verse came into my heart, it says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1). I felt lead to say it out loud and repeated it several times. The end result was that feeling of condemnation disappeared. I had used “the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” but at that time I didn’t know that’s what it was.
The Roman soldier’s sword was created similarly to a long dagger that was intended to be used in close battle, it was absolutely indispensable to his ability to attack, overcome, and defeat his adversary. This sword was double-edged. The end was up to 19 inches long or sometimes shorter. It was razor sharp on both sides of the blade. The tip pointed upwards and twisted like a cork screw. This razor sharp dagger-type sword with a cork screw tip could easily be thrust into the enemy’s abdomen and shred the inside of a victim by twisting the sword, causing the victim horrid pain as he lay bleeding to death (Renner, 2003).
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:17 taught that every believer in Christ has “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The word “sword” is translated from the Greek word machaina, which refers to a sword that was an exceptionally brutal weapon. It was a very deadly and frightful weapon and a terror to the imagination (Renner, 2003).
The Apostle Paul’s use of this word in Ephesians 6:17 lets us know that God has equipped His Church with a weapon that is frightful to the devil and his forces. This weapon is horrific to the kingdom of darkness because it has a razor sharp power to slash out demonic foes to shreds!
The term translated “word” is the Greek word rhema which defines something that is spoken clearly and vividly, in unmistakable terms and in undeniable language. The word rhema caries the notion of a quickened word in the New Testament. Hence, it is a specific, quickened word from the Scriptures (the logos or written Word), that the Holy Spirit places into our hearts and hands. This gives us real sword power to use against the adversary. Therefore, the sword of the Spirit is God’s Word, specially quickened inside us to use in times when we are in close combat with the enemy (Renner, 2003).
An example of a rhema or a quickened word is: There is a situation that you are praying about, and a Bible verse swiftly rises up from inside your heart. At that moment, you are consciously aware that God has supernaturally given you a verse to stand on and to claim for your situation. You have received from the Holy Spirit a word that came right out of the mouth of God and dropped into you spirit, it comes alive supernaturally and impart special power and authority to you to use it as a sword in your hand, that is, a spiritual dagger for you to insert into the enemy’s heart to his demise. Hence, the reason the Apostle Paul describes it as “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Renner, 2003).
Are you faced with a situation for which you need a rhema Word from God today?
Know that even though it may seems like the enemy of your soul is getting too close to attacking you, you have a razor sharp sword in your possession that you can use to defeat Him. Your miraculous God has first given you the lionbelt of truth which is His logos or written Word as the most important and central piece of weaponry, and as you saturate yourself with the logos Word of God, in times of need, the Holy Spirit quickens it on the inside of you as the sword of the Spirit which is the rhema Word of God. Giving you supernatural power and authority to annihilate your adversary. You are more than a conqueror!
Shalom!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father how excellent is Your name! I worship Your Great name today and lift You high above all else. I thank You for the sword of the Spirit which is Your “rhema” Word. I declare that anytime I receive a “rhema” Word from the Holy Spirit that I am supernaturally equipped with power and authority to annihilate my enemies in battle. Therefore, I hasten to use the sword of the Spirit in confidence knowing that I am assured victory every time. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving. Amen!
