At the time, Bruckner Chase was only the second person ever to complete the 25-mile swim across the Monterey Bay. Many had tried before, but all had failed except for one. The reason for defeat isn’t what we might expect. It wasn’t the long swim. It wasn’t the temperature of the waters. The reason was, of all things, jellyfish.
Anyone who dares to make this swim must fight through the stings of the jellyfish. As Chase began his attempt, he received his first jellyfish sting only an hour in. Soon the jellyfish became more common and so did the stings. At one point, the stings became so severe that Chase put on a wetsuit and continued the swim. Even with the wet suit, Chase stated, “I got stung on my tongue, inside my mouth, on my neck and my feet and hands…After the sun came up, I did not take a single stroke in which I did not at least see a jellyfish.” If this wasn’t bad enough, during the last mile of his swim, the jellyfish were so thick that he felt them sliding through his hands with almost every stroke. After 14 grueling hours of swimming through masses of jellyfish and enduring a slew of stings, Chase made it! After finally completing this terribly difficult swim, Chase stated, “Had I not been in a wetsuit, I would not have been able to physically survive.”
What an inspiration of endurance, hardship, and determination! But even with his determination, Chase needed some armor. What a great lesson for everyday life. In this world, we often get stung by challenges and difficulties. How can we possibly make it through? With spiritual armor!
Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about our spiritual armor of God. Verse 11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Without equipping ourselves with each item detailed, we simply will not be able to survive against “the fiery arrows of the evil one” (6:16).
Throughout this life, we will surely have to endure hardships. However, most of these hardships can be softened and even completely blocked if we make sure to equip ourselves with God’s armor. Bruckner Chase could not have made it across the Monterey Bay without the wetsuit, and we too cannot make it spiritually without the armor of God.
Is your spiritual armor on?
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