Ephesians 6:13
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
The evil day will come for all. This is not a pessimistic statement, it is a realistic statement. Everyone will have to face their evil day. The evil day could be a deadly sickness for some. The evil day could be enduring personal attacks. The evil day is the day that is used to destroy you.
Withstanding the evil day is what makes or breaks you. To withstand means to weather the evil day without it changing you or damaging your spirit. To withstand means to be unaffected while you're going through the evil day. How are we going to withstand the evil day? God says the way to withstand it is by taking on the whole armour of God. You will never go through the attacks of the evil day unaffected without having the armour of God. Let me show you how to use the armour of God to withstand your evil day.
First, you must hold on to truth. When your evil day comes, let truth be the thing in which you rest. Take the promises of God and hold onto them. It is the promises of God which give you hope that the evil day will end. The promises of God give hope that the broken heart will be healed. The promises of God need to be your anchor to withstand the evil day.
Second, live righteously. Righteousness is more than living morally, though that is important, but righteousness is performing right acts. In other words, it is living for God. When the evil day comes, don't stop serving God; instead, keep serving Him. It is important that you continue to perform righteous acts while going through your evil day.
Third, you withstand the evil day by soul winning. Allow the Gospel of peace to flow from your lips. One of the goals of the evil day is to get you to stop soul winning. Nothing will lift your spirit more than leading people to Jesus Christ. When your evil day comes, keep telling people about Jesus Christ. This will help you to withstand the evil day. This will help you not to allow the evil day to affect your spirit.
Fourth, living by faith will help you to withstand the evil day. Let your faith become stronger through your evil day. Let your faith ward off the darts of negativity, griping and complaining. It is important during the evil day that you don't change your faith, but you hold onto your faith. When you are tempted to change, stay the same. Your faith brought you this far, and it will keep you through the evil day.
Fifth, dwelling on your salvation will help you in the day of evil. It's interesting that God uses salvation as the helmet. That is because God is talking about your thinking process. If you will dwell on your salvation, you will still have the joy of the LORD in your heart.
Sixth, spend time in the Word of God. If there is ever a time you need to read God's Word, it is during your evil day. Let the Word of God become your sword that you keep beside you daily. Let It be near you by quoting It, memorizing It, meditating upon It and reading It. God's Word is the sword you will use to defeat the evil day.
Finally, withstand the evil day by praying. Friend, prayer is the glue that makes all these things work. Prayer accesses the power of God to help you in the evil day. Whatever you do, keep your prayer time when facing the evil day.
You will notice that each of these are an action. In other words, if you are going to withstand the evil day, you cannot retreat in the Christian life, but you must do more. If today is your evil day, then keep putting on the armour of God for it is your only hope to help you come through unchanged and a better Christian.