I know with certainty that I have read this verse many times throughout the years. I have sat in classes with Ephesians 6 as it’s focus. But for perhaps the first time, I really noticed a very important word in this verse. Do you see it? The word is “when”. It says WHEN the day of evil comes, not “if” it comes. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the day of evil is coming, not just a possibility or a probability, but a reality of life.

To some, this might be a “whoa, hold on there, you prophet of doom.” This is not a prophecy about evil coming; I believe instead that it is a prophecy about our being able to stand firmly WHEN it comes. We prepare in advance and then we can stand through anything that the enemy throws at us. We have to always be prepared since we don’t know WHEN the enemy will hurl his fiery darts at us.

Having been a teacher for almost four decades, I know all about preparation and lack thereof. I would spend every Saturday preparing lesson plans for the upcoming week, and most days it took almost the entire Saturday to do them. I had to make sure that I was ready to stand before my classes and teach the subject matter in a way that would make sense to them and so that they could use it to further their knowledge of the Spanish language. Nowadays since I am retired, my preparation is to get ready for the day and I begin each day with a devotional and Bible reading. I like to think that I am preparing myself for WHEN the evil days come, just as I got ready for when the students asked hard questions.

There is no such thing as a sneak attack if you are vigilant and always prepared for whatever may come. Because evil is there, waiting for you to let down your guard. The word is WHEN, not IF!

May your day be blessed with the knowledge that you are fully prepared to face whatever happens because you started the day putting on the full armor of God!