Helmet of Salvation

Why is salvation part of God’s armour? And what does it mean to ‘take’ the helmet of salvation in order to be protected by God? What is our part? Isn’t salvation something we receive when we become a Christian? Well yes it is, but putting it into practice is important for our protection. So there’s the question again - what does it mean to put salvation into practice? And why does it protect us?

There are probably many answers to that, but here’s an important issue: ‘Do-it-yourself’ religion doesn’t need a Saviour. If you can put the situation right for yourself, you don’t need someone to rescue you. A drowning man cries out “help, help”, looking for a saviour. But someone who believes he can swim to the shore doesn’t cry out for help.

The truth is that we do need a Saviour. We’re all like that drowning man. None of us can swim to the shore of Heaven! We all need to be rescued - first and foremost from hell, and eternal separation from God’s love, but not only from that. We all need rescue on a day-to-day basis. We’re not able to live perfect lives. There are so many times when our efforts fall badly short of our own standards, let alone God’s. We know that. Yet He loves us, He has compassion on us and He’s always there to rescue us as we call out to Him.

It’s not a last resort because we don’t have a ‘do-it-yourself’ religion. Praise God! Think about it for a moment. Do you believe, in the depth of your heart, that God expects you to do it all yourself? If your answer is “yes”, then you need the helmet of salvation. You need the protection which comes from knowing that it’s Jesus who does everything and carries everything, and not you.

Maybe we all need to seek God further on this, until we really grasp what it means. It means we don’t have to do it all ourselves. Jesus is our Saviour, and He will gladly rescue us as often as we need Him to. Of course we do our part, but a big chunk of our part is to cry out to Him for help, trusting Him to intervene and rescue. That trust in Him will protect our heads like a helmet.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I do need help. I don’t just need a helping hand. I need to give the whole of my situation into someone’s hands - someone who can sort it out. Thank You that You’re my Saviour every day of my life. I’m so grateful for this protection. In Your name, Amen.