Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

The gentle rustling of the wind in the trees and the cheerful morning song of the birds awaken hikers from their slumber.
When he opens his eyes, he sees the leaves and small branches of the trees above him swaying gently in the breeze. A squirrel clings to the tree trunk and curiously examines the guest. The hiker takes a deep breath of the wonderfully clear air of the forest. He is more than aware that the time has come to say goodbye to this peaceful place.

After fortifying himself with a nutritious breakfast, he continues his journey. He leaves the peaceful forest. As he continues along the narrow path, he notices how the trees increasingly disappear and their place is taken by rocks instead. These increase in size and quantity the further the hiker moves away from the grove. A massive rock face can be seen behind the rocks. It looks anything but inviting. The peace and quiet that could be felt in the small grove of Sabbath rest gives way to a cold, hard feeling. Discomfort creeps over the hiker. What would await him next? How much he would like to simply turn back and continue to linger in the place of rest. But then he remembers the destination of the journey! He wants to reach the heavenly Jerusalem! Time is pressing! Jesus had warned him that he must not allow himself any delay, because the enemy would only be waiting if the traveler was careless or too lazy for a moment. Jesus had also promised him that the hiker would be able to master the path safely as long as he trusted him. God would provide everything the pilgrims would need on the way to the New Jerusalem.

The armor

And so it is now. As the wanderer continues on his way, he comes to a plaque. It reads: „Put on the whole armor of God!“ The hiker stops, bewildered. He ponders the meaning of this sentence for a while. Why would God need armor? Why would he himself need armor? Such armor does not bode well. It sounds like war.

The hiker gets nervous easily. He is a peace-loving person. Fighting someone or even killing someone goes against his nature. Doesn't God himself say: „Thou shalt not kill!“? As he ponders the meaning, his eyes fall on a box. He opens it. To his surprise, the box contains a suit of armor! It no longer looks quite so new. It has dents and scratches in some places. But you can also see that it has been well looked after. When the wanderer takes a closer look at the armor, he discovers a small booklet in the box. This also shows clear signs of wear. It seems that many pilgrims have passed through here who have thoroughly studied these instructions and worn the armor.

The hiker begins to read the instruction manual:

„Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil!For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and, when you have prepared everything, to stand firm!Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth, clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod with the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace. In all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one! Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!“

- Ephesians 6:11-17

Preparing for the battle against the forces of darkness

The wanderer slowly understands the purpose of the armor. He reads through the instructions again. It begins with an introduction about the purpose of this armor. The whole suit of armor must be put on in order to resist the devil's wiles. This hints at what the wanderer would encounter next on his journey. He would have to face Satan himself. A cold shiver runs through the wanderer. He was to meet the prince of darkness himself? He is just a weak little wanderer who has failed so many times before. What could he do against the most powerful adversary of God?

He reads the introduction to the instructions for use again:

„Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil!For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and when you have done all, to stand firm!“

The wanderer begins to understand that what was about to happen to him was far greater than anything he had experienced before. Here he was not facing a human being, but evil itself. All his human powers could do nothing against it. But they don't have to. That is why God writes twice in his instruction manual that this armor must be put on. It is of no use if it remains in the box or perhaps stands in the room as a decoration. The armor must be put on and used.

In this introduction, the pilgrim recognizes the deep love of his God. God knows that his pilgrims will be attacked by Satan and his evil spirits on the way to the heavenly city. He knows all too well that Satan will do everything he can to bring down God's children. God is also aware that there is nothing more helpless and weaker in this universe than human beings. They are defencelessly at his mercy. Therefore, God has worked out a good defense plan. He has designed an ingenious armor that fully protects the helpless human being. God not only developed it himself, but also tested it himself. He became a helpless baby and lived as a normal human being on this earth. He was therefore just as exposed to all of Satan's temptations and attacks as we are. Just like every pilgrim, Jesus needed this armor in order to walk the narrow path safely to the end. Jesus subjected the armor to a real endurance test. No human being is tempted by Satan as severely as he was attacked by him. And the armor stood firm! Satan could not bring Jesus down. This gives every pilgrim the certainty that he can also safely withstand Satan's temptations. However, the armor must be used properly.

As the wanderer reflects on the opening words, he notices that twice it is mentioned to put on the WHOLE armor. He begins to realize how much is at stake here. His life is at stake! If any part of his body is unprotected or any part of the armor is not properly fitted, it gives his enemy an advantage. Yes, in the worst case it could cost him his life.

The last sentence of the introduction gives the wanderer hope: „...so that you can withstand the evil day and, when you have done everything, stand firm!“ So victory was possible. It is possible to resist Satan and stand firm. Satan could be defeated! What a tremendous hope! Somewhat more encouraged, the wanderer continues to study the instructions for the armor.

The belt of truth

Next he reads: „Stand now, your loins girded with truth“. The wanderer rummages in the box for the belt. Finally he finds it. He immediately puts it on. 

In Roman times, men also wore long robes, similar to dresses. However, if you had to move quickly, such a garment could be a hindrance. The belt was therefore used to tie the robe up to create legroom. This provided the necessary maneuverability in battle. Otherwise, there was a risk of getting caught somewhere with your robe and even tripping over it yourself. So the truth serves as preparation for battle. 

The truth allows the believer to walk safely. He has a secure foundation that keeps him from stumbling. Without a clear truth, there is no security. A belt also serves to hold everything together. You could also attach the sheath for your sword, a knife or your water bottle to it. So the truth holds everything together and makes you ready for battle.

The breastplate of justice

Next, the wanderer reads about the breastplate of justice. It is not difficult to find in the crate. Although it shows some signs of battle, it is fully intact. The wanderer puts on the breastplate and is amazed to find that it fits him perfectly. It fits like a glove, as if it had been made just for him. With this breastplate, the hiker already feels much safer. He feels a certain sense of security and calm come over him. The breastplate stands for the righteousness of Jesus. Only those who are righteous can win against Satan. Sin makes a person a slave to Satan. Only the righteousness of Jesus can cleanse a person from sin. Jesus gives his children his righteousness. This makes us stand before God and the universe as if we had never sinned. This removes us from Satan's power. He cannot harm us as long as we are secure in Jesus' righteousness. This righteousness is not our own. It is not part of our body. It must be given to us from outside. Just as the soldier puts on the breastplate, we must take on Jesus' righteousness. This means we must rely solely on Jesus' ministry. We cannot do anything ourselves to present ourselves better before God. All of this is a gift from Jesus.

The shoes of proclaiming the message of hope

After the hiker has put on the breastplate, he discovers the shoes. He looks up their purpose in the instructions. There he learns that they stand for the willingness to proclaim the message of peace. The wanderer wonders how this is supposed to help him defeat Satan. He thinks about it a little in prayer.

Shoes serve as protection for the feet. They protect the feet so that they can go wherever the command may lead them. It is interesting that God does not command his children to go to war against Satan. No, the command is to proclaim the message of peace. God does not want war, his deepest heart's desire is peace! He has brought peace to mankind. This good news must be carried out into the whole world by his messengers. The enemy just doesn't want people to know about this message, because then he will lose his subjects. He therefore does everything in his power to prevent the messengers from proclaiming it.

But God does not ask us to fight against Satan. Our focus should be on proclaiming the message of hope. Our lives should be a living testimony to the truth of this wonderful news. If we are willing to live and share this message, then the resistance will automatically come. We don't have to look for and study Satan and his cunning tactics everywhere. We should focus on the people who have no hope and tell them about our hope. That will provide enough resistance. That is guaranteed!

However, passing on the message of hope is also a protection against temptation. Our words always have an effect on ourselves. When we talk about our hope and our experiences with God, it has a double blessing effect on us. Not only is the heart of our listener encouraged, but we ourselves are drawn closer to God. Satan's illusions thus lose their hold on us. If one is devoted but focused on the negative, then others and myself become discouraged. This in turn gives Satan an advantage. We don't want that, do we?

The hiker slips into the shoes and realizes that they are very comfortable and light. It's like walking on clouds in these shoes.

The shield of faith

Then he picks up the instruction manual again. Next it says: „In all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one!“

The sign is at the bottom of the box. The hiker has some difficulty lifting the sign out. It has a high dead weight. He has to practise handling it a little. However, the instructions contain some exercises and practical examples. The hiker reads about some of the heroes of faith, such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Paul and many more, how they used the shield of faith against Satan's fiery darts.

Satan constantly attacks believers with various fiery darts. He knows with which type of arrow he can wound the individual the most. For some, discouragement works quite well, for others he can bring them down with overwork. Another fights against intemperance in food. Yet another has a very big ego. This list could go on and on. Satan has studied humanity very carefully. He knows how to attack each of us so that he can overthrow us. And how often has he been successful! But it doesn't have to be that way! God has given us the shield of faith. But faith needs to be trained. It is not there immediately. It grows slowly, through training. It is like a muscle that has to be built up through continuous strength training. This requires perseverance and accepting setbacks. But faith can grow big and strong through regular training. Every day, God gives us enough opportunities to train our trust in him. It starts with the small challenges of daily life and goes all the way to major life crises. All we have to do to train this faith muscle is to subordinate our will to God's will in every situation. It is easier said than done. But in the end, that's all there is to it. When we act according to God's will in every situation, our ego dies and Satan no longer has a target to attack. Don't give up if your will is still very strong and keeps asserting itself. Try again and again and ask God for the strength you need! He will not let you down!

The helmet of salvation

There are now only two items left in the box. The wanderer takes out the helmet of salvation and puts it on. It feels a little unfamiliar at first. But the hiker realizes that this metal helmet protects his head from damage. Our brain is located in our head. It is the control center for our entire body. If something goes wrong here, there will be problems in the body. Our frontal brain is located behind the forehead. This is where our thinking and our conscience are located. God communicates with us through this part of our brain. Our brain works with frequencies. Satan knows his way around it really well and has come up with a lot of ideas to damage the fine and highly sensitive nerves. He does this through unhealthy food, lack of sleep and exercise, music, movies, stimulants such as coffee, alcohol, sugar and intemperance in all areas of life. As a result, our fine cranial nerves are damaged and we can no longer hear God's quiet voice trying to speak to us. Thank God he has given our brains a certain ability to regenerate. Even if not all damage can be undone, the power can be restored to the extent that a connection to God is possible again.

It is therefore absolutely vital that we protect our brains. God has given us the helmet of salvation for this purpose. Salvation is redemption through Jesus. This should be the subject of our reflection. Thinking about God and his plan of salvation has a healing effect on our brain. We will automatically lose our taste for other things because we have found something much better in Jesus. But this is a constant struggle to steer our thoughts in the right direction.

The sword of the spirit

The last thing left in the box is an object. The wanderer reverently lifts the sword of the spirit. He pulls it out of its sheath. A shiny, sharp, double-edged sword is revealed. The wanderer notices that this is the first and only weapon. The other things are for defense. The sword is the only thing that can also be used to attack. The wanderer swings the sword carefully. Here, too, he realizes that it is not so easy to use. He studies the instructions on how to use the sword. He reads about Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert. Jesus always met Satan with „It is written!“ His opponent could do nothing against this. Jesus was able to defeat Satan through the word of God. The word of God itself contains power. When God speaks, it happens. Nothing in this world can change that!

God has given us many promises in his word that we can apply. The power is already contained in them. We just have to claim them in faith and fulfill the conditions. We are often so powerless against Satan because we do not know God's word and have not yet really experienced his power. The source of power is freely available to us, but how little we make use of it! We complain and moan about how heavy our burdens are. This gives Satan an advantage. We may be able to wear the rest of the armor, but without the Word of God, we cannot stand firm. Rather, the Word has the power to deal deadly blows to Satan. We can push him back and overcome him through the promises in God's Word. But this also requires a little practice and faith.

The balance of the armor

You can't use one part of the armor without the other. It only makes sense as a complete package. If one part is missing or another is overemphasized, it becomes unbalanced. For example, someone may strongly emphasize righteousness by faith, that we can only be saved by faith in Jesus. That is correct. But with the sword of the Spirit, we see that we must also become active ourselves. We must apply God's word and obey it in order to be truly victorious. None of the parts must be overemphasized or downplayed in importance. Otherwise you will once again become an easy victim for Satan. Practicing the use of the armor requires constant prayer, vigilance and a thorough study of the Word of God. But all this is useless if you do not live out and pass on what you have learned. Then it remains useless theory. It is then like a historic, finely restored suit of armor in a museum.

The wanderer has now put on all his weapon armor. He tries to take a few steps in it. He swings the sword somewhat clumsily. He realizes that he still needs some practice to learn how to use the armour safely. But he has a good teacher, Jesus, who patiently practises with him until he is ready for battle.

After some time of training, it is now time to continue on the path. With a slightly queasy feeling, but completely trusting the armor, the hiker heads towards the Gorge of Temptation.

What awaits the hiker next can be here in the next postg can be read here.