Are you wearing your full armor? (Part 2)
Last week I shared from Ephesians 6: 11-13. We learned why it is important to put on the full armor: to engage in battle with Satan and his cohorts. We learned that our battle is not against people around us. We learned that the weapons of warfare are given to us freely but we are all not automatically armored. We learned that we need to voluntarily and willingly take up these to engage in battle.
Often times we find ourselves combatting battles from the unseen world with our own strength and using our own wisdom. We wonder where is God in all this. Why does He not come to our rescue? I believe God is reminding us, especially during such a time of turbulence and chaos around the world that He has already given us the needed weapons to fight against the invisible forces of darkness coming against us. We only need to take up these weapons!!
So what are these weapons? How can they help us war against Satan and the evil forces? What kind of tactics of the enemy are we dealing with? I would like to prayerfully write about these weapons and I pray that as you read, you will ask the Holy Spirit to minister to your hearts personally about these weapons and the kind of battles you are engaged in in our own lives. I had earlier mentioned that I would post the second part entirely on the armour of God this week. However, I felt as I prayerfully considered this, that it is important that we understand each piece of the armour first. Therefore, I have posted on the belt of truth this week and will do so for each of the other five pieces of armour, one per week, over the following weeks. My prayer is that you will be taught by the Holy Spirit as you go on this journey with me.
Belt of Truth
Ephesians 6: 14 says this, “Stand therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist…”
I have read about the belt of truth many times and know of this passage well. But this morning, I feel God is asking of me to deeply dwell on why the belt is an essential piece of equipment.
In the past, Roman soldiers wore a belt around their waist just over the inner tunic to keep it in place and offer stability to the rest of the armor.
The Webster dictionary defines truth as “sincerity in action, character and utterance”. The Macmillan dictionary defines this as “the actual facts or information about something rather than what people think, expect or make up”.
I would like to ask you today: do you have the belt of truth around your waist? Do the words you speak, the things you do, the character you possess have the element of truth within them? Are you honest with yourself, with God and with those around you? Are you honest and integrous at work? In your business dealings? Are you integrous in character? Can people around you in your family and at work testify to your integrity? Do you have any secret sins or habits that no one else knows of but God? Do you have any unconfessed sins that the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you now? Have you falsely testified about anyone?
The Bible says in Psalm 51:6, “For You (God) desire truth in my innermost parts…” We cannot wage an effective spiritual warfare if we do not have truth in our innermost parts.
Satan is called a liar and is known as the father of lies. When we engage in any act of dishonesty, no matter how big or small, how important or trivial, we do not wear the belt of truth around our waist and risk putting ourselves at danger in our war against the forces of darkness.
1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
Have you girded your waist with the belt of truth?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I am so sorry that so often I have not allowed Your truth to take residence and precedence in my innermost parts. Uproot every single part of me that has consciously or unconsciously engaged itself in ways that have grieved Your heart. Wash me once again that I may be pure, spotless and blameless before Your sight. Make me holy as You are holy. Give me the wisdom and insight I need to girdle my waist with Your truth. I am abundantly grateful that in You and through You I can fight every spiritual battle that the enemy attacks me with. In Jesus’ Name, amen.