Bumps in the Night and the Armor of God

By: Alison Palmer

As a little girl, I had a fear of bedtime. It wasn’t that I was afraid of the dark: I simply shared my room with my imagination. It materialized every night in the form of oozing, lumpy, warped, twisted, and mangled figures with kidnapping, torture and dinner on their minds. I had monsters under my bed.

During the day they would play in my closet, and occasionally they even followed me around. Their presence could be felt in that prickly feeling in the back of my neck. Sometimes they would sneak ahead of me, around the next corner or behind a nearby obstacle, any place with an ominous shadow which would allow them to jump out at me when I least expected it. My heart would pound, my hands and knees would shake, and sometimes I was sure I’d never make it to the corner, much less be able to pass it.

If daytime was a painful experience for me, nighttime was even worse. Going to bed was definitely detrimental to my health. Although taunting me the entire time, my monsters would allow me to kneel beside my bed and say a quick prayer. These prayers mostly consisted of a variation to the theme of “If I should die before I wake” and other such blessings on my sleep. Then creeping over to my door, I would open it; so my parents could hear my scream. Then, with a flip of the light switch and a flash and a crackle from my flannel nightgown, I’d sprint three steps in the direction of my bed and leap as though my life depended upon it.

Most of the time my leap would be successful and I would land, thunk, in the middle of the bed. But my escape wasn’t complete yet. To assure myself complete safety, I became very talented at pulling the covers over my head while I was landing in the bed. I was never completely out of danger until everything up to my chin was tucked inside my covers. I knew that warm, comfortable, and sealed inside a sheet and blanket nothing could hurt me.

Poking around and making noise, my monsters called to me from their hiding places. They delighted in forcing me to recall what horrible things these creatures could do to me if they could just get a hold of me. Any part would do: a toe or a finger, and elbow or a knee, anything to be able to drag me down into their lair.

I would lie in bed, awake, wide-eyed, and shivering, listening for each ragged breath to be drawn and that stray drop of drool to hit the floor. Then slowly, with my eyelids drooping, and my mind wandering from my careful watch, I would find myself drifting into sleep and dreams. Blissfully I would forget the drooling creatures with rumbling tummies hidden beneath my bed. I rested most peacefully, and without incident, until morning.

My monsters continue to be faithful companions to this day; a few footsteps behind me, a shadow ahead of me, a flutter of movement in my closet, a cold chill now and then. They make life a little more colorful, even when I no longer wear flannel. They remind me of their presence with a rap against the house or a scrape at the window. They sometimes make me jump by pushing things off a shelf. They hide things from me. They wait for me in dark hallways. I peer suspiciously into shadows and corners. I check the back seat of my car before I get inside.

Fortunately, as I’ve grown up I have become a little wiser about my monsters and how to deal with them. I have learned that there truly are things in this world I should fear and their foundations are in the darkness.

Satan and his legions are very real; as are the traps they lay to ensnare us. Gratefully, I am a little better armed now with a source of protection far better than my sheet and blanket and far more warm and comforting. The answer is found in the scriptures. Permit me to combine two references in order to paint the full picture.

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:11-12)

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness (faith and love): And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvations, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:13-18)

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

What is this armor we are to encircle ourselves with? The answer is also found in the scriptures: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ... But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:12, 14). The answer to protecting ourselves from the monsters under our beds is to wrap ourselves in light.

Light will always chase away the darkness. Jesus Christ is the one true source of light in this world (St. John 8:12). If we endeavor to learn of Him and emulate Him in our lives we have nothing to fear from the darkness. With a strong commitment to the light, careful application of each piece of armor and a long term endurance of faith that finger or toe will not come within the grasp of sin and despair.

Have truth about your loins. Gain a testimony of the Savior, cling to a knowledge of who He is and His place in your life (St. John 14:6; 8:31-32).

Place righteousness upon your breast. The attributes of faith and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8) have long been associated with our hearts, it is appropriate that we should guard this area most of all with a desire to become more like our Savior, who is the perfect example of these qualities. Harold B. Lee in his book Stand Ye In Holy Places tells us that “The righteous man strives for self improvement knowing that he has daily need of repentance for his misdeeds or his neglect.” (pg 333). We should be daily assessing our lives, comparing our conduct with the Savior’s and utilizing his atonement and the repentance process to rid our lives of those things that weaken our breastplate and cause heartache.

Lead your feet on paths of peace. Find peace and comfort. Strive to always feel the workings of the spirit in your life. Peace is one of the greatest gifts our Savior has to offer us. His peace and assurance of well-being, given through the Holy Ghost, (St. John 14:27) are not fleeting, but eternal.

Place before you a shield of faith. The fourth Article of Faith tells us how important this principle is. It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which gives us our foundation on which all other gospel principles and ordinances are built. The Bible dictionary tells us that true faith must be centered on Jesus Christ. It is the power that allows us to command the elements, heal the sick and influence circumstances. Faith is increased by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It further tells us that faith is a principle of action; it always moves its possessor to some sort of physical or mental action, a betterment of ourselves. These are the things listed to strive for: knowledge that the course of our life is acceptable to God, an outpouring of blessings received through obedience, and an assurance of our personal salvation.

Firmly secure the helmet of salvation upon your head. Take a moment to review the Savior’s plan for us in 3 Nephi 27:13-21. Leon R. Hartshorn included in his book, Put On The Whole Armour Of God, this statement:

The plan of salvation is not complex. It is available to all, and all have or can have the capacity to understand it. We need to learn and remember it well. Our difficulties come if we forget it, for our enemy attempts continually to raise questions and doubts and blot from our minds the purpose and mission that determine our immediate and future conduct. (pg. 68)

If we can remain firm in our hope and knowledge of the plan of salvation those doubts and questions will flee from our minds and Satan will have no power to tempt us (D&C 46:7).

Hold in your hand the sword of the spirit, or the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Read the scriptures daily. Ponder and meditate upon the messages of his servants. Learn effective ways to get the most out of conference talks, Sunday school lessons, and personal daily scripture study. With the words of the Savior close at hand our hands are too busy to engage in evil. With the words of the savior firmly in our grasp we have a sure and unwavering guide to the paths of eternal life (Helaman 3:29-30).

Raise your voice toward heaven daily, even hourly if needed, with sincerity and purpose. He is always listening for the prayer of our hearts and those issued from our lips that he might strengthen and guide us past the shadows on the corner and the shadows of temptation, sin and despair that make this world our testing ground.

Finally, be ever watchful. Never assume that one or several pieces of armor will be enough. Strive always to walk in the light. Place upon yourself the armor of God in its entirety. With God as our constant companion the light will chase away the dark and we will not fail to gain the reward of sleep and peace in His eternal kingdom.