Necessity of a Hat and Helmet

        My sister and brother-in-law planned to come fix the lawn mower and four-wheeler. Mother wanted to prepare a roast to delight my brother-in-law’s palate. I headed to the old freezer to retrieve the much-desired roast and grabbed a bag of broccoli, too. With my hands full, I exited the freezer room. As I pulled the stubborn door closed, I was hit by something above my eye that immediately began hurting. As I made my way across the lawn, I held the bag of frozen broccoli to my eye.

Eye Swollen from Bite

          Upon setting down the frozen items on the counter, I notified Mother of the bite. That side of my face began to throb like a headache. I applied a Benadryl gel for bites and stings. The discomfort lessened. The next day, my brother-in-law diagnosed it as a “gnat bite” with the advice to keep taking my daily allergy medicine. On Sunday, my friend, Vonda Goad, pronounced it a “buffalo gnat bite” sympathizing with me since she had the same type of bite.

          I heard myself say several times, “I wouldn’t have gotten bitten if I had been wearing my hat.” The updated sunbonnet that I wear would have protected me from the bite.

Posing in my 21st Century Sunbonnet on my 
2021 Birthday

          Reflecting upon the importance of wearing my hat, I recalled the passage in Ephesians 6 when the Apostle Paul described the armor of God. I focused on the helmet of salvation. Jesus bought salvation through His sacrificial death on the cross. 

           Thoughts and influences of Satan’s kingdom of darkness bombard the unprotected mind. A person’s own sinful inclinations are influenced by a constant barrage of the world’s every-changing standards and false ideologies.  Yet how wonderful when a transformation begins upon the person receiving Jesus. The helmet of salvation initiates immediately the renewal of the mind of the new believer and warding off the salvo of Satan.

          The Grace to You website delineates two specific ways the enemy of God attacks the minds of believers with discouragement and doubt. Since John 3:16 promises everlasting life to whomever believes in God’s Son, Jesus, we cannot lose our salvation, but discouragement and doubt can render us ineffective in serving Him and showing His love to others.

          The function of the helmet of salvation is heightened by the Word of God or Sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon in battling the Wicked One. Maintaining an attitude of prayer endows the believer with strength and power for boldly sharing Jesus with others.

          The command from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6:17-19 remains essential to our growth–

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God;

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints –

And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.