When I was a street cop, I wore a bulletproof vest, also known as body armor. My vest was made by a company called Second Chance. It had two panels. One panel covered my chest and the other panel covered my back. I never hit the streets in uniform without wearing my vest. I would have felt naked without its presence pressing against my body. I did not wear the vest to only protect my physical life. I wore it to protect the future of my family making sure I went home alive at the end of my shift. I also wore it to give me a better chance to stay in the fight to help my fellow officers when we came under fire.

That bulletproof vest reminds me of our life in the Spirit. A lot of believers get taken out because they have not protected themselves from the attacks of hell.  We have been given a spiritual vest that can repel any attack as long as we wear it faithfully each day. The two panels on our spiritual bulletproof vest are grace and trust. If our hearts are protected by a gracious attitude and our backs are covered with an unwavering trust in God, when the attacks come and we take a potentially fatal spiritual shot by either an unrighteous judgment or a backstabbing betrayal, we will survive the encounter.  Grace and trust have the ability to capture those assaults and render them ineffective giving us a second chance to live another day as an emotionally whole and spiritually healthy follower of Christ. 

Each day as you suit up for life, put on your vest of grace and trust. No weapon fired against these protective layers will have the ability to penetrate your life and take you out of the fight of faith.