Strength.

Paul again...Ephesians 3:14
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Louie Giglio talks about laminin...amazing little tiny cellular structure that works within us at the most fundamental of levels....It is in the shape of a cross. Jesus is there with us at the most fundamental of levels. The most basic functioning finds Him inside of us. And yet there were people before He came and died, and they must have had this laminin....before the significance of the cross....hmmm. With the triune God all One, could there really have been a "before" the significance of the cross...probably not. Before the event on the cross, yes, but before the significance? No, probably not. He is in us.

He is strength. He is power. I love Paul's imagery of getting dressed with the power and the protection of God. He uses descriptions of clothing that is rooted in protection. A belt, a breastplate, a shield and a helmet, a sword. He tells us to have our feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Our shield of faith that will extinguish flaming arrows. How heroic our God has made us. How daring and bold we are to go forth with His as our garb! With Him as our breastplate and shield. There is no dragon of fear, no beast of worry, no demon of selfishness that can stand once we are clothed in the armor of the Lord. He is our strength and shield! He is our portion. With the bodies given us in His image - as if that weren't enough - He still gives us Himself on the outside. From head to toe He protects His children.

And on the inside He is there. Not just in our hearts, but in the very fiber of our being. In the laminin that binds and functions at the cellular level. Within and without, He is the master of my being.

The God of the Universe - the One who created all we see - He is the armor that protects and delights me in my day. He is the One who holds my right hand and will not let me fall....and from inside, where I doubt, where I question, where I worry and fret, He is the glue, the hold-fast-togetherness that keeps my body functioning....I will make it another day, by His Grace.