Our Helmet of Salvation...

Chapter Twenty-One:

Gurnall tells us that "the helmet of salvation covers our head in the day of battle. This helmet, together with most of the other pieces of armour, are defensive arms to protect the Christian from sin but not to keep him from suffering. Only one piece in the whole armour is for offense  - the sword. Scripture hints that the Christian's war lies chiefly on the defense and therefore requires defensive arms to fight it...the believer overcomes his enemy when he himself is not overcome."  He goes on to remind us that we must always be in a defensive posture, ready to defend ourselves and repel the attacks of Satan. 

Ephesians 6:17 reads, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  Gurnall points out that the phrase "And take..." implies that we are to be on the receiving end of salvation, that we are being told to reach out and not only receive this gift of salvation, but also to accept the spiritual armor that God offers to all of His children.

First Thessalonians 5:8 says, "...and the hope of salvation as a helmet." This verse tells us that our helmet not only defends our head but it also brings with it one of the greatest blessings of all, and that is hope. The hope that we receive from following God is much different than any hope the world has to offer. The hope that the world has to offer is temporary and can never truly satisfy the soul, regardless of its endless amount of empty promises. Only the hope that comes from God can truly satisfy the emptiness that is within every soul, and accepting God's gift of salvation is the only way we find that hope which is truly and fully satisfying.

As the helmet defends the head, this "hope of salvation" defends our soul. It is this helmet that the enemy hates as he knows it protects the believer from his temptations to sin. It defends the Christian because it makes it more difficult for temptations to ensnare us when we are truly satisfied with having God's favor and the hope that comes with our salvation. We have the wonderful hope that we will soon be seeing our heavenly home and will be leaving behind this world of misery and despair. 

Because the helmet defends our head from wounds, it also emboldens our heart, making it more difficult for us to fall when we face trouble. We will not be ashamed as we boast of our glorious God. Our confidence, which comes solely from God, gives us strength and  courage. As David said in Psalm 27:3, "Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." Our courage comes from having this helmet of salvation. The hope that it brings us allows us to declare, along with David, that our hearts shall not fear.

This hope will be needed for as long as we war against sin and Satan. Gurnall tells us, "We are directed to take the helmet of salvation not for one particular occasion and then hang it up until another emergency calls us to use it again. But we must take it so as never to lay it down until God takes off this helmet to put a crown of glory in its place." 

Gurnall explains that our hope of salvation will help us in several other areas. First, this hope motivates us to give our best for our Lord. When asked to do something we do it with an attitude of excellence and boldness. We no longer care about the pleasures this world has to offer and reject them for the prospect of heaven's glory. Our hope of salvation takes the place in our hearts where worldly hope use to live. As man cannot live without some type of hope, we have happily traded the futile hope that the world has to offer for a hope that brings joy and peace.

Second, we are content with whatever position in life God appoints us.  Some He appoints to be leaders and men in high places. Others, do ordinary tasks that do not gain much recognition. However, the one whose hope is in Christ will be content regardless of where his Lord would have him serve. The promises of God strengthens our hands and hearts against any discouragement that may try to weaken us while we are serving Him.  Gurnall encourages us, "To arm the Christian against discontent and discouragement, God promises as great a reward for faithfulness in the most menial services as He gives in more honorable service."

Third, our hope gives us support during times of affliction and suffering. Gurnall put it this way "The Christian's patience is his back, where he carries his burdens; and some afflictions are so heavy that he needs a broad one to carry them. But if hope does not lay the pillow of the promise between his back and his burden, the least cross will prove to be too much. Therefore this promise is called the 'endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ' (First Thessalonians 1:3)."

Anyone who has gone through times of suffering and affliction know the sense of hopelessness it can bring. But through the hope we carry within us, the hope that comes solely from our relationship with God, we don't have to succumb to these feelings of anxiety. The hope we receive from our Heavenly Father can quickly quiet a disturbed, worrisome spirit better than anything man can offer. When David's soul was uneasy during affliction he clung to the hope he knew he could find in God alone, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? hope in God." (Psalm 43:5). 

There will be times when our spirit is grieved because of other people's actions or words, or maybe even being spitefully talked about by those who are supposed to be our friends. But even during those troubling times, waiting on God for His comfort and the type of joy only He can offer is the remedy the troubled soul needs. Hope can bring consolation so much so that even the most afflicted soul can smile when there appears to be no reason. Our hope assures us that our present sufferings bear no comparison to the coming joy of being with our Heavenly Father. 

Fourth, when there are times when God seems to be slow in responding to our needs or fulfilling His promises, our hope calms our spirit and reminds us that God's timing is always perfect. Unfortunately, we can easily be led into the temptation of questioning God if we don't remind ourselves "that God doesn't perform all His promises all at once, and that the fulfillment they (we) desire may be seen on the way coming to them (us)" says Gurnall. 

He goes on to say, "When God delays before He fulfills the promise it is the believer's duty to wait for it...God will perform it at the appointed time. It is hard work to wait when there is no sight of God's coming after days of prayer and nights of watching. To flesh and blood it is hard. Weak faith is out of breath and liable to turn back when it has gone a long way to meet God, and thus misses Him. Hope gives us the ability to quietly wait. Hope groans but does not grumble when the promised mercy does not come straightaway. Hope's groans are sighed out from the (our) spirit to God in prayer."

At this point, Gurnall transitions from giving us words of comfort to a stern warning. He points out the necessity of being assured we are, indeed, wearing the true helmet of salvation. He warns there are those who have fooled themselves into believing they are in right standing with God, and as a result wear a false helmet of hope. He calls out the hypocrite who never had any real hope, only an imaginary hope of their own making. 

He calls out the false prophets (not the False Prophet of Revelation) whose smooth words they have spoken will be no match for their own consciences that will judge them harshly at the appointed time.  He also warns against the religious person whose faith is wrapped up in their own works which results in self righteousness and self deception. The true hope, the hope of the right kind, is well grounded in the Christian who has received the new birth as a result of receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and in nothing else.

Those of us who have this true hope are to be thankful for this precious gift that has been given to us and we are challenged to live in a manner that shows we possess this hope. Gurnall warns us "And certainly it is the devil's design to cast the greatest shame on Christ and His Gospel by persuading man to profess a glorious hope of heaven but to live in utter unworthiness of such a royal inheritance." 

Gurnall asks us to do a self examination of how we live out our Christian lives before others. Do we walk in a manner worthy to be called sons and daughters of the most High God? While man is made for fellowship, are we careful about our associates? Do they influence us more than we influence them? Do you look for fellow companions on your journey to heaven or do you find yourself drawn to be among the ungodly? As our hope points us towards heaven, we should find we have little to do with ungodly companions.

We need to look at our manner of conversation and how we present ourselves to others. As part of the Bride of Christ, we must not live in a manner that shows we are not living a holy life, as we are all waiting for the coming day of God (Second Peter 3:11-12).

Gurnall reminds us that "you have no more effective argument to defeat temptation than your hope (in heaven)...The sinner's lust rightly terrifies him with fire and brimstone, but your hope of heaven's glories keeps you out of lust's reach...Be off, Satan (we say), I will not have anything to do with you or any of your offers which will make me unfit for that blessed place and holy state I wait for."  We can have such a deep hope and desire for heaven that it overshadows anything this world can offer.

How the Enemy tries to Attack our Shield of Faith...

Chapter Twenty:

Let us now look at how our enemy, Satan, tries to penetrate our shield of faith. We are reminded in Ephesians 6:16 that our shield will quench his fiery darts.  It is not simply that it will help us resist or repel them, it will quench them, crush them and bring them to an end. And not just a few, but all of them.  

God wants His children to fully grasp the depth of Satan's wickedness. God is firm in that we must remember to do all within our power to resist Satan and the temptations he uses to try to entice us. While it is easy to rationalize and make excuses for our committing sin, God demands that we call it for what it is, sin. The moment we let down our guard, our shield of faith is weakened and an opening appears that easily allows one of Satan's fiery darts to enter. 

Gurnall warns us, "Remember that Satan is wicked and can come for no good. And because you know the happiness of serving a holy God, surely you have an answer ready when this evil one comes to entice you to sin. Can you think of staining your hands to do his nasty drudgery after they have been used for the pure and fine service of God?"

God also wants us to remember the wickedness of Satan so that it encourages us in our combat against him. God doesn't want us to be afraid of Satan, He desires that we walk boldly, knowing that our enemy sees Christ's holiness in each one of us, therefore we have nothing to fear.  All Satan can do is try to scare us, but in the end we have Amighty God on our side!

Gurnall tells us what to expect from the enemy's artillery, "The devil's darts are temptations which he aims with remarkable accuracy at the souls of men and women."  Charles Spurgeon said that "The ancients were known to use small arrows that were tinged with poison...they no sooner touched the flesh or even grazed the skin than they left a fiery poison in the veins."   These darts are swift (Psalm 18:14), fly secretly catching us unaware (Psalm 64:4) and their nature is to cause a wound that leads to death. It is because of the deadliness of these darts that God has provided us with our solid shield of faith. 

In every heart there is a secret tendency to sin, and Satan is well aware of this. Satan may tempt us but we only have ourselves to blame when we take the bait.  James 1:14 reads, "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." What is comforting is that we are told in First Corinthians 10:12 that, "...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." 

God makes this way for us through the power of faith.  Gurnall says, "Faith empowers a soul to quench the pleasing temptations of the wicked one...and all that is in the world is food and fuel for lust...faith enables the soul to quench those darts which Satan dips into the poison of worldy lusts...John has told us what God means by the the world: 'For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.' (First John 2:15-16)."  Gurnall  goes on to teach us that these fiery darts fall into two categories.  First, those which entice us with false promises of pleasure and satisfaction.  And second, those which bring fear and terror with them. 

The first category begins with the lust of the flesh, the temptation that promises pleasure to the flesh. Gurnall warns us that "No temptations work more eagerly than those which promise delight to the flesh...No one can ever shake off the old companions of lust until by faith he becomes intimate with the grace of God revealed in the Gospel. Faith strips away the veil from the Christian's eyes so he can see sin and Satan who disguises it...the soul recognizes not only the nature of sin, void of all true pleasure, but also its temporary quality."

Then there's the lust of the eyes. This refers to those temptations where we covet and desire what we see, the luxuries that this world offers, which are like beacons to those who have a thirst within them for wealth and possessions. Faith quenches this temptation by reminding the believer that God is our provider and that our comfort comes from God, not material abundance. Faith has us look upward to seek much better things than this world can offer. 

The pride of life appeals to that part of us that desires honor, recognition and the praise of man. It also appeals to those who are weak in their faith and are unwilling to suffer for their faith, giving in instead to saving themselves from trials and persecution rather than standing for their beliefs. Faith quenches the pride of life by having us look to Christ for our sense of worth and recognition, as pride is the fuel for this temptation. When we walk in a spirit of humility and our ambition is aligned with God's will, the pride of life cannot survive, and we are willing to stand for our beliefs, regardless of the cost.

The second category of fiery dart that Gurnall warns us of are those that are meant to fill the Christian with fear or despair . "It is only the power of faith that can quench fiery darts of this kind. This particular kind of weapon is our enemy's tactic kept in reserve. When pleasing temptations prove unsuccessful, he opens his quiver and sends a shower of these arrows to set the soul on fire - if not with sin, then with fear", says Gurnall.  However, Gurnall encourages us when he says, "Paradoxically, it is a sure sign that Satan is losing when he resorts to using temptations (darts) to produce fear in the Christian." 

If he cannot get to us by way of fear, he will shoot his fiery dart of despair in the hope that we will become caught up in thoughts of the sins that we have committed against God. Satan's goal is to keep us entrapped in the guilt and shame that comes from how we lived before we became redeemed by Christ's blood. If we have truly repented, then faith has us focus upon the mercy and love of God for providing Christ as our atonement, and the forgiveness He will offer for present and future sins, if a believer is truly repentant of them.  The fiery dart of despair is no match for the mercy, forgiveness and love of our great Holy God!

When any of these temptations are fired at us by the enemy, whether they be temptations of pleasure that the world has to offer, or temptations of fear and despair, we must resort to using our shield of faith as our way of defending ourselves. Call to heaven for help by way of prayer. The Apostle James said, "You fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not" (James 4:2).  This implies that our victory will come from heaven, but it must come as the result of believing prayer. Gurnall tells us that our prayer must come from a heart that expects God to act, and that we should expect Christ to be interceding to the Father upon our behalf. Also, it is crucial that we have full confidence in God and anchor our faith upon His character.  

As Charles Spurgeon wrote, "Our shields must be one solid piece, one piece that rests in the finished work of Christ. We can have no confidence in ourselves, or any other man, but it must rest wholly and entirely upon Christ or our shield will be of no use. Our shield must be forged in heaven, or it will be worthless. It must rest solely upon truth, for if there be any error or false notions in the fashioning of it, that will be a joint in it that the dart can pierce. You must take care that your faith is aligned to God's Word, that you depend upon true and real promises...And above all, you must mind that your faith is fixed in the person of Christ, for nothing but faith in Christ's divine person and in His proper manhood when as a Lamb of God's Passover, He was sacrificed for us - no other faith will be able to stand against the tremendous shocks and the innumerable attacks that you must receive in the great battle of spiritual life." 

The Christian's Shield of Faith...

Chapter Nineteen:

As was mentioned earlier in chapter seven, the foundation of all of our armor is faith, with the rest of the parts being attached to it, as in the links of a chain. The fourth piece in the Christian's armor presents itself in this verse, "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (Ephesians 6:16). Paul, when he speaks of the shield, raises it above all its fellow pieces of armor - "Above all, take the shield of faith...".   Its solitary use is to enable the believer to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, that is, of the wicked one, Satan himself.

Gurnall has us examine just what type of faith we possess, as it's only sincere faith, whose foundation is built upon the work of Christ at Calvary, that will be able to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy. Sadly some people's faith is actually just a mere acknowledgement that God does exist, and it is what would be considered more of an intellectual belief in God, but nothing more. Satan's attacks will easily destroy this weak, intellectually-based faith.

Another type of erroneous faith that some possess is likened to the Gospel Message that falls on stony ground, and while it grows for a short time is soon overcome by the cares of this world. For faith, it is when unbelief comes in and easily destroys any faith that has tried to grow. Simply put, faith that is not firmly and unshakably rooted in the truth of what Christ's atonement has done for us, will also be unable to withstand Satan's attacks.

There is only one kind of faith which will defend us and that is what Gurnall referred to as "justifying" faith.  He explains, "Justifying faith is the act of the soul by which it rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life, and trusts the guarantee of that promise... It says 'I believe my sins are pardoned through Christ.'... The one who possesses this type of faith is the true match for the devil."  We rest upon Christ crucified for the pardon of our sins and the promise of life hereafter. Assurance believes its sins are pardoned through Christ alone, and nothing can be added to that fact. 

Just as the Scriptures were instrumental in our conversion, they are also necessary for preserving and building our faith. Gurnall warns us when he says, "If only Christians who complain about their weak faith would turn their murmuring into an investigation of why it is so weak! It is because faith has missed its meals from the Word....But now that you have gradually stopped coming to God in His Word, there is a sad change. It is not easy for you to trust Him; and you have little authority over your unbelief!...We fail to experience glorious victories in prayer because we do not allow faith to pray very often....None are in more danger of losing their faith than those men who are content with what they have. The stronger your faith, the safer your faith is from enemies' attacks... Repentance recovers what faith loses by unbelief."

Gurnall challenges us to determine if our faith is weak or strong.  The more the Christian can rely on God's promises, the stronger is his faith. Are you able to trust in God when He withdraws your feelings of being able to bask in His love? Are you mature enough to walk by faith even when your feelings don't seem to match up? Are you still able to trust in His mercy and goodness? And, are you still able to believe when all reason seems to break down? Weak faith asks many questions, needs many assurances and desperately tries to reconcile God's Word with what is actually happening. 

How content can we remain when changes begin to happen that we never expected? Can we say as Paul did in Philippians 4:1, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content."?  When things go against how you'd hoped, are you able to still trust God and withhold feelings of anger, bitterness or resentment? Are you able to be satisfied with how God says things should be done and do you still trust Him? 

If you are able to walk in contentment, it shows that God does reign in your heart, and that you revere and trust in Him. A surrendered heart will trust in God's will, even in the midst of trouble. And the longer a Christian can wait for answers, even in the midst of suffering, the stronger is his faith. In addition, the more easily a Christian resists temptation to sin, the stronger is his faith. And the most telling of all, is the sweeter the Christian's attitude toward death, the stronger faith he possesses.

While these are traits of a strong faith, there are times when a sincere believer struggles with their faith. If, when you doubt God, you feel sorrow then it is a sign that you are still His, and the sorrow you feel is because you aren't as strong as you'd hoped you were or would like to be. All God requires is that you repent of your unbelief, recognizing that it is an area in which you desire and need to grow. Then there are the times when we question if God really does love us as He says. We may doubt if Christ is truly for us, but ask us to walk away from Him and we cannot, we will not, do it. 

Our doubt may cause so many questions within us that we are driven to earnestly seek the answers before we can find rest. We are told in Psalm 77:2 that when David struggled with doubts, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord." Gurnall tells us, "A person should no more sit down and be content in his unresolved doubt than one who thinks he smells fire in his house would go to bed and sleep. He will look in every room and corner until he is satisfied that everything is safe." 

The sincere believer who struggles with doubt, and yet earnestly desires to do God's will, continues on despite those doubts and clings fast to Christ. "The weak Christian's doubting is like the wavering of a ship at anchor - he is moved, yet not removed from his hold on Christ; but the unbeliever's doubting is like the wavering of a wave which has nothing to anchor it and is wholly at the mercy of the wind.", says Gurnall. 

God wants us to have no doubts in His care for us and His care of us.  He wants us to have complete faith in Him, and we must realize that when we doubt Him, we are not acknowledging His greatness and His infinite mercy. Instead, we actually dishonor Him when we doubt Him. If we have faith, we will see God as being Holy and extending forgiveness. We will see a God who stands behind His promises and offers strength to all who need it and ask for it . If we have allowed ourselves to be influenced by thoughts of unbelief, our repentance will quickly restore us to a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Romans 15:4 reminds us that God desires to offer us hope and comfort. It reads, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." God wants us to have security concerning the reality of His great mercy and the open heart He has for those who would embrace Christ and have faith in Him. 

Gurnall reminds us that "The greatest command in the whole Bible is to believe. When the Jews asked our Lord Jesus, 'What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?' notice His reply: 'This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom He has sent' (John 6:28-29). It is as if He has said, 'Receive Me into your hearts by faith; do this, and you will do it all...".

In the next chapter, we will look at how the enemy's fiery darts try to destroy our shield of faith.

The Christian's Spiritual Shoes...

Chapter Eighteen:

The third piece of the armor which protects a Christian are the spiritual shoes. The shoes are fitted to our feet and designed to be worn as long as we battle against sin and Satan. Ephesians 6:15 reads, "...and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." While shoes are used for everyday wear, these shoes are no ordinary shoes. Just as the other pieces of the armor are for the purpose of defending us so, too, are these shoes. 

These shoes are to help us deliver the greatest message the world has ever heard, one of good news and great joy.  Luke 2: 10, 11 reads, " But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'"  This revelation of Christ, and the gift of salvation to whomever will accept it,  is the best news anyone will ever hear!

This message of salvation is a message of peace, and with it comes hope and comfort. Those who live in Satan's world of darkness have no sense of peace as their conscience constantly accuses them of living for themselves and against God. Their lives of rebellion and selfishness may give them a temporary sense of peace, but God will not allow it to continue.

They cannot truly hide their feelings of guilt as He wants them to come to Him to find real peace, not peace as the world knows it. The peace the world offers is superficial.  Even the most charitable, kind, self-sacrificing person in the world, that is not in right standing with God, can never hope to achieve true peace, and certainly any hope and comfort they feel will be fleeting.  

This life-giving message, this joyful news that God offers salvation to all, is what Satan absolutely despises and he will stop at nothing to try to alter, distort, twist, misrepresent and nullify the news that Jesus Christ came to earth to bring salvation to mankind. Those whose intention it is to spread the message of the Gospel anger Satan, and he will try to stop the messenger if he cannot affect the message itself.

His desire is to keep entire nations in darkness, under the bondage of sin, and those of us who seek to bring light into this darkness do so because we have tasted the sweetness of this gospel message of salvation and have compassion for the pitiful condition of those that are still under Satan's control. It is this desire that motivates us, and it is those of us who carry this news that Satan seeks to stop. It is essential, then, that our feet are properly fitted in their armor so we can go into Satan's territory with this critically important message for those who are still under his rule so that they, too, can hear it.      

     

Gurnall tells us, "The man whose feet are well shod is not afraid to go through thick or thin, foul or fair, stones or straws; all are alike to him. But the barefooted man, or the one with fragile shoes, shrinks when his feet touch the mud...when the will and heart of a person are ready for any work, he is shod and armed against any trouble he must go through to complete it." We are to be a people who are standing ready to do whatever God asks of us.  We are to be prepared to share the message of the Gospel, and as such our feet are shod in such a way that we can trudge through any stormy weather, cross any barrier and advance the message through all rough territory. 

It is at this point where Gurnall begins to prepare us for the challenges that we will encounter when sharing the Gospel, "...the gospel calls men to stand ready for God's service, whatever the cost...It is our duty as believers to be prepared to endure any hardship and trial which God lays out for us in our Christian walk. And saints will never be without these trials." 

Trials and hardships often come in the form of some type of suffering. Our willingness to suffer, if God asks it of us, is an indicator that we are also prepared to serve Him. While the idea of suffering goes against our flesh, we must be willing to suffer for Christ if we say we are willing to serve Him.  As Gurnall wrote, "If Paul's preaching the gospel - even with his rare art of sweetening it - could not please the ungrateful world, it would be almost impossible for those of us who fall short of his gifts to win the world without some form of reproach, contempt or downright persecution."

Any soldier that goes into battle understands that there is often a heavy price to be paid, and for the Christian that price is our willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. As a believer, we must have a yielded attitude to whatever God asks of us. Luke 9:23 says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  Luke tells us that we must be prepared to not only serve God, but to also suffer for His name's sake. 

Gurnall tells us that "A saint cannot serve if he is not prepared to suffer. This is true because all servants have a cross which comes with their calling. If we become offended by the cross how can we serve Christ?...This spiritual shoe, then, must be standard equipment....it is the duty of every saint to make a free profession of Christ - and often this cannot be done without the threat of danger. If the person's heart is not resolved in this point, the first storm that stirs will make him tie up in any creek rather than venture out in turbulent weather...It is impossible for a person to savor (this) life unless he is prepared to lose it."   

How does a believer walk with a readiness in their heart to suffer for Christ? We must come to a place where we are no longer afraid.  Gurnall tells us, "Once the Christian wears this piece of armor called  'the gospel of peace'  his soul is prepared for both danger and death...No doubt this 'preparation of the gospel of peace' brought Peter such divine rest when bound between two soldiers... because he was ready to die, he was able to sleep."

In so doing, we have the assurance of God's care. "We see that by surrendering ourselves up to God's will we engage Him to take care of us no matter what happens. How much more comfortable can life be than to have our heaviest fears taken off our shoulders and rolled upon the Father?...When a person is finally brought to the foot of God and can earnestly surrender: 'Lord, here I am, ready to give You all I am and all I have; my will shall be done when Your will is done in me,' then the Lord will oblige Himself to care for that soul.", Gurnall encouragingly reminds us.

Gurnall goes on to solemnly challenge us, "Let all who wear the name of Christ get this shoe of preparation on and keep it on so as to be ready to follow the call of God's providence even if it leads into suffering."  He goes on to give us two reasons why we must be prepared.  First, suffering may come suddenly, without any warning whatsoever. If we have not prepared ourselves beforehand, then when suffering suddenly appears out of nowhere, we are caught unaware. Second, if we aren't prepared to suffer for Christ here on earth, we cannot expect to receive our crown in heaven. Romans 8:17 tells us this, " Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." 

The question we need to ask ourselves is not how can we escape trouble, but how do we keep our shoes on so we can wade through troubles in true peace of heart? The first thing Gurnall has us do is examine ourselves to see how obedient we really are, are we willing to suffer if it's required of us, if God asks it of us? 

Second, he tells us that we need to pray that God will develop within us a spirit that is willing to suffer. Paul, while he was in chains, wrote and encouraged the Philippians to stand strong in their beliefs, even in the midst of suffering, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him..." (Philippians 1:29). Gurnall tells us to "Pray, then, for a suffering spirit for Christ's sake. Saints need to plead earnestly with God for this gift because suffering work does not come into our minds naturally. The flesh loves to be pampered, not crucified."

Third, that we need to be determined in our hearts that we will endure whatever suffering is required, be it poverty, prison, isolation, fire or even death. He tells us to consider these things often "so the self-pity which flesh and blood indulge will not be satisfied, nor the encouragements from Scripture be treated with doubt. You must make sure a promise is true before you stake your life upon it...God's promises are our fortress in times of danger; but it is not easy for us to run to them in a crisis unless we know them in times of comfort as well....He shows us our abiding place in His promises long before sufferings come so we can readily find our way to them in the dark." 

Fourth, we need to come to the place where we accept God's will on a daily basis. He tells us that "all resistance to suffering stems from the root of distrust...each morning, then, entrust your whole heart and all your ways to God's hand."

Fifth, it is crucial that we make self-denial a part of our lives. If God asks us to give up everything, we need to be ready, and willing, to do so. And lastly, we must leave worldly lusts behind. Paul points us toward Christians who were "... tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection." (Hebrews 11:35). Their journey to heaven was much more valuable in their eyes than anything they had in this world or that this world had to offer. 

Gurnall makes it a point to tell us, "Be careful not to leave any unmortified (unsubdued) lust in your soul; it will never consent for you to endure the smallest suffering for your Savior...Any unmortified heart, however, is so tightly wedged in by familiar spirits of worldliness that it is impossible to escape their embraces and enter into a willingness to suffer...The truth is, only the person who has learned to die to the world knows how to live in it."

We are to be encouraged, that the peace that our hearts received when we accepted the Gospel, is the same peace that will give us the strength and determination we need to go on, despite the certainties of trials and suffering.  Gurnall says, "And the man who lives in this peace is the only one who stands shod, prepared for every trial. Only Christ can make a shoe fit the Christian's foot so he can easily walk a hard path, because He lines it with the peace of the gospel. Then even when the way is covered with sharp stones, this shoe goes between the boulders and the foot - and obstacles are never much felt."   

We are promised that "...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7). If we are shod with the shoes, and are living lives totally surrendered to God's will, we will be able to get through any difficulty with an inner peace that can only come from our Heavenly Father.