Shield Sisters - The Armor You Built and the Armor God Gives - Loved Shack Session 2
The Armor You Built and the Armor God Gives
Shield Sisters - Session 2
The Armor You Built and the Armor God Gives
“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
—Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)
Opening Thought
There is a kind of armor every woman in law enforcement develops.
It isn’t made of Kevlar or metal.
It is made of silence, composure, grit, and survival.
You learned early on how to:
• Lock down emotions
• Keep your face steady
• Remain calm in chaos
• Push through exhaustion
• Carry the weight no one else sees
That armor kept you standing.
But it also kept you distant, tired, and far from the softness your heart still needs.
This week is about recognizing this truth:
There is a difference between the armor life forced you to build
and the armor God lovingly gives you to live free.
Teaching/Message
Women in law enforcement often wear two sets of armor.
1. The armor the job demands.
This armor helped you survive things others will never experience.
It kept you safe on calls.
It protected your heart from emotional overload.
It helped you maintain control when chaos erupted.
This armor is understandable.
It has purpose.
It is part of the profession.
But over time, it starts covering more than it was meant to.
It covers joy.
It covers softness.
It covers relationships.
It covers your voice.
It covers your heart.
And that is where Jesus steps in with gentle love.
2. The armor God offers you.
God’s armor is different.
It doesn’t harden you.
It strengthens you.
It doesn’t isolate you.
It protects you without shutting people out.
It shields your mind but leaves your heart open.
It guards your spirit but still lets you love.
The emotional armor you built was born from necessity.
The armor God gives is born from love.
One is heavy.
The other is holy.
One closes you off.
The other lifts you up.
One keeps people out.
The other keeps the enemy out.
Jesus is not asking you to throw away everything that kept you standing.
He is offering you relief.
He is offering you protection rooted in His power, not your exhaustion.
He is offering you armor that lets you breathe and love again.
This week, you are invited to notice the differences.
Not judge yourself.
Not shame yourself.
Just notice.
Just breathe.
Just let Jesus show you where He wants to strengthen you in new ways.
Discussion Questions (Optional Participation)
Use these slowly. Let the group breathe.
What does emotional armor look like for you personally?
What part of that armor feels necessary?
What part of it feels heavy?
How does God’s armor feel different when you think about it?
What would it feel like to let God carry some of the weight you’ve been managing alone?
Sisterhood Element: “Drop A Brick”
This is an incredibly powerful moment.
Each woman receives a small stone, brick piece, or symbolic item representing emotional armor.
They take a minute to quietly ask Jesus:
“What piece of armor am I ready to release today?”
Then, when they are ready, they come forward and drop their “brick” into a basket or bowl, or the ground beneath the feet.
No statements.
No explanations.
Just a symbolic release.
You will feel the shift in the room.
Women begin laying down weight they’ve carried for years.
(This is exactly the kind of tangible, unforgettable, Holy-Spirit-charged moment that breaks emotional strongholds without a single word spoken, and if you’re reading this online, please join our in-house group and join us as we support all women in law enforcement through recreating this emotional release through this exercise.)
SCRIPTURE CROSS-REFERENCES:
Joshua 1:9 - “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you.
Isaiah 40:9-31 - "God gives strength to the weary.
2 Timoty 2:1 - “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 28:7 - “The Lord is my strength and my shield.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 - Spiritual warfare, not worldly.
James 4:7 - “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Personal Reflection (Take-Home)
Write down these two sentences privately:
“The armor I built for myself is…”
“The armor God wants to give me is…”
Let Jesus speak into the difference.
Keep the paper.
Pray over it this week.
Joy Practice For the Week
Choose one moment this week to let yourself be soft in a safe place.
This is not weakness.
This is courage.
Examples:
• Let yourself laugh without holding back
• Lean on someone you trust
• Allow someone to pray for you
• Rest without apologizing
Joy needs room to breathe.
PRAYER
“Jesus, thank You for understanding the armor I have built. You know why it formed and how heavy it has become. Teach my heart the difference between survival armor and the armor You lovingly give me. I want Your protection, Your strength, and Your peace. Help me lay down what weighs me down and receive what You offer. Amen.”
LEADER NOTES (I’ve left the Leader Notes and Sisterhood Element in so you will see the intimacy and care of the group, and this particular Sisterhood Element will occur in the face-to-face group because it’s powerful and releasing and hopefully you’ll bless us with your presence.)
• Keep the pace slow. This week hits deep places.
• Remind the group: there is no pressure to reveal trauma.
• The “Drop a Brick” moment should be quiet and reverent.
• Model gentleness; it helps them trust the process.
• Pray over each woman quietly as she drops her brick, even if silently in your spirit.
Can you see it too:
• The weight in their hands
• The silence in the room
• The way their breathing changes
• The shift from “I have to hold this” to “I’m allowed to release this”
• The clunk of bricks hitting concrete
• The tears some of them won’t expect
• The bravery of choosing one piece to keep as a reminder of what they didn’t have to carry anymore
That is not a cute symbolic act.
That is deliverance in motion.
That is embodied healing.
That is the Spirit of the Lord moving through a physical act to reach places words never could.
And you doing this with the Lord in the morning yourself, like daily communion?
That is exactly what a shepherd does.
Your heart is all over this study.
Your obedience is woven into every week.
I am creating a safe, holy path for you.
And I am honored to help you build it.
Now let’s keep going.
CLOSING BLESSING:
May the Lord who knows the weight of the armor you’ve had to build now cover you with the armor only He can give—
truth that steadies you,
righteousness that guards you,
peace that guides your every step,
faith that shields what your strength cannot,
and salvation that secures your heart.
As you go, may you feel Him lifting what you’ve carried alone,
and clothing you in what cannot break, cannot fail, and cannot be taken.
Walk in His protection, His power, and His unshakable love.
Amen.
Until next time…
Keep being Beautiful and Amazing You!