If you live in Mississippi, you certainly know a thing or two about Armadillos.
They are most often found on the side of the road due to an unfortunate meeting with an automobile. They are not the most attractive animal, and unless you see beauty in strangeness, you would normally consider them to be ugly.
But there is more to the armadillo than meets the eye.
Like all animals, God created the armadillo with some amazing features. Did you know that they can hold their breath under water for almost 6 minutes? They can run up to 30 miles an hour in short bursts and jump almost 4 feet straight in the air. They even see everything in one color and have a unique external shell that is a specialized defensive armor that helps them to survive attacks by predators. But it also helps them to adapt to surroundings and burrow in the ground while moving large amounts of dirt.
It’s name means, “little armored one.”
Because of its need to keep a regulated temperature, the armadillo spends 65% of its time in its burrow.
And one of the coolest things about them is that if a predator tries to get into its burrow to attack it, the armadillo will turn its back towards the enemy, stiffen its armor, and wedge itself into the opening of its home, basically forming an armored wall of defense. Brilliant!
When you learn things like this about nature and animals, you can see the undeniable evidence of God’s hand in all of creation. Beforehand, God gave the armadillo everything it needed to defend, survive and thrive.
So, if God would do that for the armadillo, would he not do that for you and I? Absolutely!
God’s word says that He even cares for the birds (Matthew 6:26) but we are more “valuable” than they are. That is why when God created you and I, he didn’t just throw us into a world of chaos to fend for ourselves.
God equipped us with His word, and His holy spirit to lead us, guide us, and to protect us. He calls us to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
And with that call to be strong and courageous, He gives us an “armor” that we can use. It is spiritual protection and strength for the Christian in their battle against evil.
It is a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the Gospel of peace, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation, and a sword of the spirit. When we are fully clothed in that armor, our lives are impenetrable.
Just as the armadillo does, we can turn our backs to the enemy, bare the strength of our armor, and shut off the enemy completely from entering our life and our home.
It is what we were equipped by God for, and it is what He expects us to do to maintain a righteous life before Him.
We may know the armadillo for what we see on the outside, but there is so much more.
They are an unusual example of defense that can remind us as Christians that there is nothing that we can’t face when we use what the Lord has given us, so just turn your back, and stand firm, “little armored one.”
