Christian Living

The Armor VII— Getting Your Head on Straight

by J.W. Phillips
02/06/25
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The Armor VII—Getting Your Head on Straight

The fifth part of the armor is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the head, the place where we reason and draw conclusions.

You’ve heard the exhortation, “You need to get your head on straight.” This is a call for right thinking.

Instead of being worn down by bewilderment (what the Bible calls being “confounded”) and by disillusionment (what the Bible calls being “ashamed”), the Christian who has this helmet on can have a continual confidence in God (Isaiah 54:4).

The possibility of such confidence is never available to those who walk in the natural. Oh, sure, every four years the political parties will strike up the band, playing “Happy Days Are Here Again.” But nobody (except a few inebriated delegates) really believes that!

We can say all we want about the virtues of a good education, but the more biblical assessment insists we need to be saved and not just tutored!

This is precisely why the helmet of salvation must be put on! The helmet of salvation involves a rational processing of biblical truth, upon which the believer will stand and eventually see the salvation of God manifest.

By salvation, Scripture obviously isn’t talking about the born-again experience. There’s no way the first parts of the armor could work if we hadn’t yet made this all-important decision.

As it is used here, the word “salvation” literally means to salvage, to make whole, to deliver.

The good news, then—for you and for me—is that Jesus isn’t our Savior only at the moment in time we crossed the threshold of salvation and became a Christian—he is willing to save and deliver throughout our life!

To get a better idea of what the helmet of salvation means, recall that time in the Old Testament when Israel was surrounded by a conglomerate of nations, all wanting to do them in. When word of this reached King Jehoshaphat, he went to the temple to seek his God.

Given this alignment of hostile forces, it really didn’t matter how many weapons the king had stockpiled, or how many soldiers he could summon to battle, there was no way Israel could prevail against all those armies!

To his everlasting credit, Jehoshaphat gave God something to work with by talking faith and not fear. So the Spirit of God declared to this humble, God-fearing king, “… the battle is not yours, but God’s... You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord...” (II Chronicles 20:15, 17).

This is what the helmet of salvation really is. It is the confidence, the expectancy, that God is going to infuse your situation with all the resources needed to assure victory.

I Thessalonians 5:8 talks about the helmet as the hope of salvation. Not a “hope so” hope that takes a “wait and see” attitude, but a “know so” hope that casts care away and releases faith before the victory manifests.

Sabotaging right thinking is ignorance. The Apostle Paul said of Satan, “we are not ignorant of his devices." We know his tricks, we know his traps, we know how he operates.

No army would want to go into battle clueless. That’s why military intelligence focuses on learning the enemies strategies so they can develop and implement counter strategies.

Scripture provides a lot of information along these lines. But we need to use our head and learn what it says.

Maybe you’ve seen old Westerns where some old codger stationed at the bank was sitting in a chair leaning against a wall, sound asleep with his hat pulled down over his head. Not only does this guy not know anything, but he also doesn’t even suspect anything. That’s not good.

Also not good are emotions suddenly rising, totally eclipsing thinking. To be flustered, overwhelmed, and convulsed with fear means you’re not going to do well in this spiritual battle. You need to get your head on straight.

Don’t forfeit in the dark what you had gained in the light.

Get the doubt out!

No waffling! No wavering!

Rivet your focus on Jesus!

And just like those Jews who marched around Jericho, don’t give voice to your thoughts, and don’t let vision distract or defeat you, just march for as long as it takes.

Obey only the Lord’s command. When he says shout, then give voice!

In this way you will see what seemed impossible to overcome, come tumbling down.

A total collapse of what blocked your way!

A glorious victory in this spiritual battle!