Anyone who has spent much time serving Christ’s Church knows that ministry can be exhausting. Pastors preach, teach, visit, counsel, bury, baptize, administer the Sacrament, and carry burdens few people ever see. Teachers prepare lessons, shepherd children, answer difficult questions, deal with frustrations, and wonder whether anything they said actually got through. And behind all of it, St. Paul reminds us, there is a battle taking place that cannot be seen.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” That is important for church workers to remember. The difficult parishioner is not the enemy. The frustrating student is not the enemy. The person criticizing you is not the enemy. Our struggle is ultimately against “the spiritual forces of evil,” (Eph. 6:12 ESV). Satan delights in turning Christians against one another, and he especially loves discouraging those entrusted with proclaiming Christ.

Notice, however, what Paul does not say: Try harder. Be stronger. Develop thicker skin. Instead: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might,” (Eph. 6:10 ESV). The armor is God’s armor. The strength is God’s strength. The victory is Christ’s victory.

The belt is His truth. The breastplate is His righteousness. The Gospel of peace puts shoes on our weary feet. Faith extinguishes the flaming arrows of the evil one. Salvation guards our minds. And into our hands God places the sword of the Spirit—His Holy Word.

Church workers sometimes act as though everything depends upon us. If the sermon fails, the lesson falls flat, attendance drops, someone leaves, or a program struggles, we begin carrying burdens Christ never placed upon our shoulders. But the Church does not stand because pastors are clever or teachers are talented. The Church stands because Christ stands.

So put on the armor. Preach the Word. Teach the faith. Pray without ceasing. Forgive sins. Baptize. Feed Christ’s people with His Body and Blood. And when you are tired, remember that you are not fighting for Christ’s victory. You are standing in a victory already won at the cross and proclaimed by the empty tomb.

The devil may rage. The world may mock. Our flesh may grow weary. But Christ has conquered. And dressed in His armor, we stand!

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen all pastors, teachers, and servants of Your Church. Clothe us with Your armor, guard us from the assaults of the evil one, and keep our eyes fixed upon Your cross and resurrection. When we are weary, remind us that the strength is Yours, the Church is Yours, and the victory is Yours. Give us courage to proclaim Your Word faithfully and love those entrusted to our care, until the day when every battle is ended and we stand before You in glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.