Misty Fitch | Fearfully Made

Every day you prepare yourself for what’s ahead.  You take into consideration where you’re going and what you’ll be doing, then you choose clothes that fit the activity, and you dress yourself.  Maybe you spend time working on your hair and makeup to get it just right.  Before leaving your house, you take one last look in the mirror to make sure everything looks just how it should.

My question to you is “What do you have under your armor—under your clothes, hair, and makeup?”

For the past two weeks we’ve been learning about Naaman in our youth group.  Naaman was a commander of King Aram’s army during Elisha’s days on Earth.  2 Kings 5 tells us he was a soldier highly regarded by the king, but he was hiding something.  Naaman had leprosy, which was a horrible disease during those times.  The disease was so bad people who had it were completely shunned.  No one would be caught near them out of fear of being contaminated themselves.

A very quick background of what leprosy does to a person:
A person with leprosy usually has blemishes causing their skin to appear scaly or like it’s rotting in areas.  Their body becomes disfigured from the twisting and curling of bones.   Someone with this disease has extensive nerve damage; therefore they lose sensation of any kind.  That means they can’t feel pain, so when something is burning or cutting or scraping their skin, they aren’t aware.[1]

Because Naaman was a man people looked up to, he didn’t want them to know he had it.  He clothed himself perfectly in his armor and walked out into the crowds with an appearance of having everything together.  No one knew the dark secret he was hiding.  No one knew that although he couldn’t feel anything or anyone touching him, he was more than likely in immense pain.

I’m willing to bet he stepped out in his perfect attire every day asking himself, “Is this going to be the day someone discovers my secret?” 

What’s Under Your Armor?

Right now, you’re reading this while dressed in whatever “armor” you chose for the day.  Is there anything underneath your armor that doesn’t match?  Are you showing people who you really are, or are you like Naaman concealing certain sins?  Do you appear put together but feel like you might fall apart at any minute?

In Naaman’s story, Elisha told him to bathe in the Jordan River 7 times in order to be healed, and it worked!  He was healed of his disease –a disease some people associated with sin during that time. 

Let’s face it.  We all sin.  We all mess up.  The cool thing is that Jesus has already done everything necessary to rid us of those mistakes.  We don’t have to strip down and bathe in the river 7 times either!  All we have to do is talk to God and ask him to forgive us and help us overcome whatever obstacle is in our way causing us to sin.  That’s it.  It can’t get any easier than that. 

Self-Conscious vs. Self-Confident

If you step out of your house not matching, you might notice you feel self-conscious throughout your day, and your confidence level may take a nose dive.  All the enemy wants is for you to have a breakdown in your confidence.  He knows if you’re lacking confidence, you’re less likely to lead others to the truth that is God.

The next time you’re getting ready for the day and take that last look in the mirror, ask what’s under your armor.  If what you have under your armor doesn’t quite match, talk to God about it and ask him to help you match the two.   A girl needs the complete matching ensemble, right?