Internet problems were eating up valuable time. Even after multiple contacts with support people, I still couldn’t get the problem solved. I was so frustrated! Have I mentioned I was frustrated?
But then I remembered what I’d committed to in my devotional time that morning: TRPFAW! That’s what I came up with when I studied the armor of God. I started calling it “trip-faw” when I listed the different aspects of the armor:
T: truth (gird loins with truth)
R: righteousness (breastplate of righteousness)
P: peace (shod with preparation of the gospel of peace)
F: faith (shield of faith)
A: assurance (helmet of salvation)
W: Word (sword of Spirit, word of God)
Ephesians 6:13-17 says, “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (NASB).
In my devotional time, I’d tried to get a handle on applying those verses and came up with this application:
Belt of truth: what is the truth in this situation?
Breastplate of righteousness: what is the right and godly reaction?
Feet shod with preparation of the gospel of peace: I have peace with God and I can also seek peace with others.
Shield of faith: I believe God is in control.
Helmet of salvation: I am not condemned. I’m assured of my position in Christ. Nothing can steal that away and nothing can separate me from God’s love.
Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God: What does God say about this?
As I meditated on those principles and put on the full armor of God, I didn’t get upset about all the internet problems. In fact, the next morning in my quiet time, I wrote in my journal: “I passed the test! Even though I dialogued by email with two tech people and talked personally to two other tech people, I never got upset about the frustration. I could sense so clearly that it was a test. And when I initially didn’t get hooked, I sensed Satan wasn’t giving up. He was thinking, ‘She’ll cave in when this goes on long enough.’
“But then I rehearsed TRPFAW over and over again. I concluded, ‘God, if you want me to ‘waste’ my time in this way, then OK. I’m your servant. My time belongs to You. You know how much I have to do and You’ve allowed this to happen, so there’s nothing I need to get upset about.'”
Putting on the armor helped me “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) and after 24 hours of trouble, my internet problems were solved.
How about you? How can TRPFAW empower you to trust God more and grow in holiness more?