“Take the helmet of salvation ” Ephesians 6:17a
The helmet that the Roman soldiers would have worn in Paul’s time would have been made of metal and covered their necks along with their heads. The helmet would have come across their cheeks leaving the nose and mouth exposed. As the design was to provide as much protection to the soldier as possible, it would have been made custom to fit each man.
When thinking about how a helmet can protect the brain, mind and head of a soldier, it seems appropriate to link the helmet to salvation. Protecting our brain and ultimately our minds from what the world tries to inundate us with is a large task. In Romans 12:2 it is written “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The devil knows our weaknesses and for most of us, those weaknesses have to do with our thoughts. If our minds are distracted, injured, or we lose focus, then our minds are on us, not God. That is the state that the devil wants us to be in because when we focus on ourselves we tend to follow our own logic which can lead to us behaving in ways we wouldn’t if our minds were focused on God.
Our salvation is directly connected to God, that is who gave it to us, so not keeping our thoughts in line with what He wants is dangerous for us as Christians. The helmet of salvation reminds us that we are saved by Jesus and that our thoughts are to be on Him and His will, not on what we think we should do. God has a plan for us that is far above and beyond anything we could ever imagine.
How do we keep focused on God and keep our thoughts from take us away from God? By capturing our thoughts as they happen and evaluating them. Do they line up with what God has said in His word? Are they leading us towards God or away from God? As we put on the helmet of salvation, we should ask God to help us with our thoughts so that we can free our minds from the thoughts that distract us from God and instead we can focus on God and His will.
Have a wonderful day.