Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. We never know when we are going to face major temptations that will be extremely difficult to fight against. Basically this Scripture is saying that we need to wear our armor of God 24/7.

Luke 12:39 (NIV) But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

This illustration used by Jesus to explain the importance of always staying ready for His second coming, applies well to the issues of temptation. This is illustrating a principle of how important it is to be ready for any spiritual issue. Had David, in 2 Samuel chapter 11, known that he was going to be facing such a strong temptation with Bathsheba; he would have had his spiritual armor on. He would have been ready to fight and win against the satanic attack sent to destroy him. He wouldn’t have sinned against himself, God, Bathsheba, and Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. But, he got busy with human issues and forgot about the things in the spirit realm. Have you ever got too busy with human issues? We all do! Joseph, on the other hand, had his armor of God on BEFORE the temptation came.

Gen 39:1-12 (NIV) Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her OR EVEN BE WITH HER.

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Doesn’t this seem like a simple human story where Joseph was dealing with a fellow human being? No big deal. He was just having his moral character tested by a human. Unbeknown to Joseph, God had a plan for providing food for all of Egypt and Joseph’s family. And, God had a plan for building a nation for Himself while Jacob, Joseph’s dad’s family, started to grow over a 400 year period. Joseph was facing a huge spiritual battle and wasn’t battling against flesh and blood issues. But, let’s say that this particular instance wasn’t going to affect so many people’s lives. Suppose it was just a matter of Joseph winning against sexual temptation. It was still a spiritual battle. Satan was trying to take him under and he had to be ready for the attack; and, he was!

Jesus has to help us have these things decided prior to the moments of temptation. We have to be in such a close relationship with Him that we are empowered and trained to handle these issues in advance. We can’t wait until the temptation comes and then start putting our armor on. There isn’t going to be time to pull the user’s manual out and start learning how to use this equipment. We have to have it on, know how to use it, and be GOOD at using it.