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Overcome Confusion with Wisdom

Early on, the Romans realized the importance of protecting the soldier’s head in battle. While other nations were using helmets made of cloth, or animal hide, or bone, the Romans were employing helmets made of iron or brass. They knew the helmet was critical for a soldier’s survival on the battlefield, for if his head was badly damaged, the rest of his armor was of little use. In the same way, Satan knows a blow to your mind can be fatal. This is why Paul next instructs you to “take the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17 NKJV). 

Your “spiritual helmet,” provided by the Lord, represents the assurance of your salvation and the protection of your mind. This assurance gives you the courage to fight your spiritual battles against the assaults of Satan’s lies, corrupt philosophies, and confusion of thought—the weapons the enemy uses to undermine your commitment and conviction of security in Christ. Specifically, putting on the helmet is a metaphor for putting on the mind of Christ. When you “put on” Christ, you allow Him to live His life in and through you by the power of the Spirit.

Jesus, in His humanity, experienced pain and even sorrow at times. But He was never confused. He understood God’s plan and will for His life because He had the wisdom of God. He was the wisdom of God. And this same wisdom is available to you through Christ. As Paul writes, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV). As you receive this wisdom, you will find it strengthens you in the certainty of your salvation so you can overcome confusion, falsehood, and doubt with the God-given confidence that comes from Christ alone. You can live the same kind of life of confidence that our Lord lived! 

Note that this wisdom is more than mere knowledge. Knowledge involves the accumulation of facts, but wisdom requires the ability to apply that knowledge to achieve the best outcome. To protect your mind from deception and confusion, you need the wisdom dispensed by God Himself. This means you have to take the concept of wisdom further, because it’s not enough for you to have only the wisdom that the world offers. 

In Scripture, wisdom refers to knowing the course of action that will please God and make your life what He wants it to be. When God promises wisdom, He promises a way of life superior to the way of the world. He guarantees that through His gift of wisdom you will find the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (see Romans 12:2). You acquire wisdom through your efforts to learn, grow, improve, and study. It’s not automatic, and it’s not instantaneous. But the more you humble yourself and your heart opens to the Lord, the more wisdom you will acquire.

God won’t always reveal His long-term plan for you or how your actions today will play into that plan tomorrow, next year, or in the next generation. But when you desire God’s wisdom, listen to His words, and then obey them, He will provide you with the wisdom you need for the moment. That is all you need to face the present situation and make the right decision.

In spite of the confusion around you, you can keep your eyes fixed on the prize—the hope of your future eternal salvation through Christ. As you do this, it will move you forward in the light of God’s wisdom, revealing how to act with skill on what is known while trusting God with what is unknown. This is what it means to put on the helmet of salvation  and live as an Overcomer.

Respond 

How would you describe your confidence in your salvation? What is your confidence (or lack of it) based on?

What confusion about God and His purposes for you have you experienced? How have you seen this battle play out in your mind?

How has Jesus, who is God’s wisdom, helped you overcome confusion and see His love and purpose for your life?