Having the right theology on sexuality is really important, but it’s not enough by itself. What do I do when I’m at the pub and an attractive woman flirts with me? What do I do when a close female friend tells me she has feelings for me? What do I do when I get to the end of the week, I’m really tired and I feel like a night off from pursuing holiness?

I’ve realised that it’s really important for me to anticipate when I could be vulnerable to temptation by identifying risk factors. I am part of a Christian recovery programme, and one of the tools we use is the acronym HEART which stands for:

H – Hungry/Hurting
E – Exhausted
A – Angry
R – Resentful
T – Tense

Inspired by this, I made a list of scenarios which I know can cause me to particularly struggle:

• When I’m tired or bored
• When my routine’s disrupted
• When I haven’t had enough quality time with God
• When I’m travelling away from home
• When I’m with other same-sex attracted people, especially those who are struggling
• When I’ve had alcohol

Having recognised those situations when I’m likely to struggle more with my sexuality, I need to be prepared. Some of those situations are avoidable to some extent, but others aren’t, so I need to take hold of the resources God has given me to be able to follow him faithfully. To use the analogy of a battle, no one would run out into combat in a t-shirt and shorts, and yet that’s so often what we do as Christians when we face the world and all its temptations without our spiritual armour.

Ephesians 6:10-17 describes the armour that God gives us to protect us in the heat of the spiritual battle:

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’

I often like to physically mime putting each item on and pray over it as I do so. When I’m feeling insecure or I’m reminded of the areas I’ve fallen sexually, I can put on the helmet of salvation and remember that it is Christ who saves me from guilt and death and gives me life in him (Romans 6:23). When the enemy tries to make me believe lies about myself or doubt the goodness of God’s character and his design for sexuality, I can use the shield of faith to extinguish his arrows (James 4:7). With the sword of the Spirit, I can speak God’s powerful word into my life and remind myself that his word is transformative (Hebrews 4:12). The breastplate of righteousness is able to guard my heart and remind me that God sees me as right with him because of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). The belt of truth reminds me to hold fast to what God says is real and trust in Jesus who is the truth rather than being seduced by culture’s messages about sexuality and identity (John 14:6). And the shoes of readiness from the gospel of peace remind me that I have a great message of amazing hope for those who are sexually broken and confused who can come to Jesus for forgiveness and freedom (Ephesians 1:7).

This is what wearing the armour of God looks like for me, especially as I face temptations in the area of sexuality. What does putting your spiritual armour on look like for you?