Fighting Dragons with Chopsticks

Don't know about you, but I have days, maybe even weeks, where I feel like I'm battling Dragons with Chopsticks.

Somedays even with those plastic hors d' oeuvres swords tucked between my index finger and thumb, holding up a Ritz cracker as in my other hand as a shield.

I stand there, all fibers of my being quaking, facing the green eyed dragon of envy, or the yellow-eyed dragon of fear, the gray-eyed dragon of despair,  the red-eyed dragon of anger. Or even the blue-eyed dragon of desire.

They're every where, swooping in from a clear blue sky. Distorting my sun.

No one sees the dragons shadowing me. They don't see as I thrust and parry with my small inadequate weapon and cower behind my shield when he rears up, flapping his wings and roars. He swats at me with his tail, I dodge, barely escaping the spiked end.

I roll away from a burst of flame to my right, and ready for advance on my left. I think to myself foolishly as I stand there, that I'm more lithe than these beasts attacking me. I can face them and win because I have such skill. All I have to do his  continue to dance around and they'll tire before I do.

But I grow weary from running, my parched mouth is thirsty, my cracker is half-baked, my chopsticks are burnt and my sword is melted.

The blue dragon has only to flap his wings at me and I fall to the ground. Broken. Certain I will be toasty fried dragon meat at any second. I tuck myself in to a mini human morsel and try to disappear

Near to sobbing, I wonder why God had abandoned me. Why he left me to face this dragon alone? Forgetting that he promised to be with me. Forgetting to put on the full armor of God.

How much easier might this battle had been if I'd faced the dragon in the strength of the Lord?

Did you remember to put on your Armor today?

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the Lord's people.