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Today was the final lesson in their Armor of God Bible study. So far, they discovered who the true enemy was and learned that prayer put them right in the presence of God. Then they discussed how the truth of God was core support for the breastplate of righteousness, which was a heavy piece of equipment every soldier must wear. But if the belt of truth were in place, the soldier would be able to stand with righteousness.
Session four was about how the enemy tried to steal our peace of mind, but having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace would help us withstand those fiery darts the enemy sends our way. And of course, as session five informed them, the shield of faith was one of the most important weapons in spiritual warfare, as the Bible says, ‘without faith, it is impossible to please God.’
Toya had always thought that she had faith, but as she listened to Priscilla Shirer describe how faith in God would guide our every action and reaction, she wondered if situations and circumstances had stolen some of her faith. If that was the case, she wanted to get it back. “Increase my faith, Lord,” she had prayed during the faith session and the sixth session which had been about salvation.
Finally, today, they were discussing the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Priscilla was masterful in the way she taught them that the word of God could be used as a defense mechanism. When the enemy tried to make you believe something about yourself that didn’t line up with what God says, put the word on it. The last video was the shortest of all, but as Toya sat listening, she wondered if she had ever truly put the word on her situation. “Help me, Lord.”
As the video ended, the lights came back on, and her mother stood behind the pulpit again. “Oh, what a time, what a time,” Yvonne Milner-Reed held the microphone to her mouth and yelled through the sanctuary.
“If you leave here the same way you came, you can’t blame nobody but yourself. The word was cutting and sharper than a two-edged sword. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. He wants His people to truly know Him and understand what His armor can do for them.”
Even though no music was playing, women were jumping out of their seats, dancing, shouting, and amening. Yvonne said, “The altar is open, come down here and get what you came for. Ask God to take the fear, shame, and the blame as you put on this armor that God wants you to wear from this day forward.
Just like that, the altar was flooded. Some got on bended knees, some bowed low, and some stood, but all gave praise to God as they called out to Him. Gina had been one of the first women at the altar.
Toya hung back, not wanting the people who had known her most of her life to think that she didn’t have all she needed from Jesus. After all, she was the pastor’s daughter. But the spirit of God was heavy on her and in the sanctuary. She couldn’t deny that she needed something from God.
After Marvel kidnapped her, Toya never said anything to anyone, but she began to doubt God’s ability to keep her safe. What was the use in praying, when someone could just snatch you off the street and do what they wanted with you? But as Toya glanced around the room, she came face to face with people, like Mother Thornton, who had been praying for her since she was a child... those prayers, from the people who loved her, was what saved her from a monster like Marvel. Toya needed to get back what she had lost. She had a feeling she would be able to get it right here and right now if she lifted her shield of faith. So, that’s what she did. She stood and walked toward the altar; tears streamed down her face as she decided that she wasn’t going to leave until she got everything God wanted to give her.
Toya didn’t know how she saw it through the blur of tears in her own eyes. But her mother was still standing behind the pulpit, she was no longer instructing the people, she watched Toya’s journey to the altar, she got down on the floor and lay prostrate before the Lord. She wasn’t saying anything that Toya could make out, she was just crying. But she didn’t seem sad, more like tears of joy.
Her mother had been praying for her, and now she finally saw Toya putting her trust in God. Toya felt as if her tears were touching the very hand of Jesus, and He was catching each drop as she poured her heart out to Him. She gave Him her fears and her burdens. When she finally got up and walked back to her seat, Toya truly felt like she could conquer the world. Her fear was gone.
~~~
Later that day Toya and Gina walked the mall and Toya didn’t feel the least bit panicked. She had finally learned not just how to use her sword, but how to believe that the word of God was true, and she could trust it. Before leaving church, she wrote in the back of her Bible, ‘God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, love and of a sound mind.’ That scripture came from the book of 2 Timothy 1:7.
Why she hadn’t commanded her fear to line up with the word of God before, Toya didn’t know, but she would forever be thankful that she attended the Armor of God Bible study.
“How does this look?” Gina had tried on a denim blue jean dress that swayed at the bottom.
“Girl, you are rocking that.”
Smiling, while looking in the floor length mirror, Gina said, “I am, aren’t I. I’m buying it.”
She went back into the dressing room, and Toya picked out a burgundy button-down dress and took it to the dressing room. She had several outfits in burgundy already but loved the color so much, she wasn’t opposed to adding another item to her wardrobe.
As she tried on the dress, Toya looked in the mirror and liked what she saw. Not just how the dress looked on her, and it looked amazing. But Toya was enjoying the way her eyes looked because there was no fear, no waiting for the panic attack to begin. Toya gave all glory to God for the way she was feeling. She lifted her hands and praised God inside the dressing room.
Right in the middle of her praise, Toya heard a scream. At first, she wasn’t sure it was actually a scream, because she was so caught up in praising the Lord for all He’d done for her. But she quickly received a confirmation with the wrapping on her dressing room door and Gina screaming, “I saw him. I saw him.”
Toya opened the dressing room door. “What’s going on?” Gina flew inside the dressing room and locked the door behind her. She was shaking so bad; Toya thought her friend was about to have a seizure. Toya put a hand on Gina’s shoulder. “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”
Gina was crying, “I’ve been hiding from him for so many years. I thought it was finally safe to come back home. But he found me.” Gina was frantic as she added, “He’s going to kill me.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong. Didn’t we just finish that Armor of God Bible study? Don’t start doubting God’s ability to keep you safe. Don’t do what I did.”
“I just want to get out of here. Can we go now?” Gina was inconsolable.
Toya opened the dressing room door, looked around as if she’d know the guy if she saw him. But since there were only women standing around, she figured it was safe to come out. “I don’t see him, Gina. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Gina reluctantly stepped out of the dressing room. Everyone in the store was staring at them. “Why are they looking at us?” Gina asked Toya like she hadn’t just been screaming her head off.
“Don’t worry about them.” Toya took the clothes she had worn into the store off the bench and stuffed them in her purse. Thankfully, everyone was too busy staring at them to purchase their items, so the checkout line was empty. Toya quickly purchased the dress, then pulled the tags off of it. She asked the cashier if mall security could escort them to the car.
“I was just about to ask if you needed me to call security,” the woman said. She then picked up the phone and did exactly that.