The Morning I Left My Winter Overalls at the House

A year ago today we remembered and honored the life of my uncle, James Franklin Gates. As I concluded this post with lines from "Trust and Obey," I recalled the comfort and strength we drew from singing this much-loved hymn during his funeral service.

Jim Gates and Sheriff George Wayman sharing a
laugh at the Burbank High School Reunion - 2001

When My Heavy Overalls Reminded Me of the Shield of Faith

                The morning temperature was 3^o F, with a -11^o F wind chill reading. Of course, as I looked at that, I remembered my father’s take on wind chill. He retorted once, “Why there’s nothing to that. It’s not that cold out there.”

                I placed the feed out for the cats and since I had a busy morning ahead of me, I headed to check the water at the stock tank. I had walked about halfway to the tank where the cattle watered and realized, Oh my goodness! I hurried out of the house so quickly that I did not pull on my overalls. Thankfully, I had on my stocking cap and hoodie with my coat’s hood fastened, too. I had double layers on my legs, but I still missed my heavy overalls – a cold weather necessity for me.

                On my return jaunt to the house, I began musing about the armor of God. I ticked off in my mind – the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the footwear of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), and finally, the shield of faith. Then I recalled teaching children about how the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6, compared believers in Christ to the Roman soldier of his day.

                Thoughts ran through my mind about how the helmet of salvation symbilizes how His forgiveness of our wrongs produces the desire and power to live for Him because we have been given a new way of thinking – the mind of Christ.  Then I moved, in my thoughts, to the breastplate of righteousness and its purpose to protect our hearts from trusting in our emotions or reacting on the way we feel instead of relying wholeheartedly on His promises. I knew the belt of truth should always encircle us with God’s viewpoint on issues. Internalizing His truth provides a readiness to articulate what we believe with gentleness and respect (I Peter 3:16-17). The footwear of the gospel of peace rounded out my thoughts. We can stand strong in the gospel – Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Only embracing the gospel of Christ will bring peace to our world and enable individuals to posture an unwavering stance no matter what occurs. These protective pieces allow the Christian soldier to effectively use the sword of the Spirit or the Word of God.

                Without my winter overalls, I felt the cold more keenly as I neared the house. I remembered decades ago of researching and then teaching the children that the Roman shield could be held overhead, positioned in front of the soldier, or placed side-by-side with other fighters’ shields. Those maneuvers warded off the enemy’s attacks. In the same way, the shield of faith protects against the fiery darts of Satan.

                 God’s Word is to be read and heeded. We should not view our salvation as just a little more than a fire insurance policy—without faith to influence the way we react, the truth we declare, and the speech we express in our daily living. The Bible says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ).

                If we truly have faith, we will trust AND obey. That is what faith is. James said in James 2:18, “I’ll show you my faith by putting it into practice in faithful action.” Either we believe what the Bible says and obey it or we don’t.

                My endurance on the cold morning was compromised by me not pulling on my overalls before heading out in the frigid temperatures. In the same manner, when we hear God’s Word but ignore or postpone obeying it, so our effectiveness is limited at best. Instead let us follow these poetic lines -                                         
                                                       What He says we will do,

Where He sends we will go; 

Never fear, only Trust and Obey.