Standing your grounds as a believer
"Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”. (NLT) Ephesians 6: 14
Bible reading: Ephesians 6: 13-18
As followers of Christ fighting a necessary battle which we ought to win at all costs, it is important to learn all the essential techniques there is to win this battle of life. And as per every fight, one needs to identify and strategize to defeat the opponent. In our case as Christians, the devil is our opponent at the battle front. Now, as an order from above, we ought to stand our ground and put on the whole Armor of God. Every part of the armor is equally vital in our quest to overcome the devil and his schemes.
The first important thing to do is to put on the BELT OF TRUTH. For a soldier, the belt is to hold his garment in place and to keep him from stumbling over a lose uniform. Without the belt, a soldier will not be adequately fit to go to battle. The sword and other important weapons are hanged on the belt of truth and this suggests its prevailing importance. Again, truth is important because we are fighting against the father of all lies (the devil). He easily deceives and if we do not know the truth, we can easily fall prey to his schemes as is stated in John 8:44; “… he was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him… for he is a liar and the father of lies”. For us to defeat him, we need to safeguard our lips from telling lies as we are admonished in Ephesians 4: 25 – “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body”. The belt of truth can also be likened to the seats belts in our cars. It protects us from every other hard fall thrown us by life challenges resulting from any hit from the devil (Job 1: 8-11).
When we are sure our belts are tight, we need to put on another equally essential part: THE BODY ARMOR OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS also known AS THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. As in the stories of all men that walked with God, they were characterized by an attribute very important to God; righteousness. Righteousness made Job survive the wicked acts of the evil one. It also gave David, Abraham, Noah, Enoch, and many others favor with God and victory over their enemies. In every battle, a soldier needs his breastplate to protect him from any attack made on the vital organs of its body. The chest houses all the organs like the heart, lungs etc., vital to our very survival. It is not surprising that God requires that we put on righteous acts as a protector. We need his favor to protect us and we can gain that through our acts of righteousness.
God has set the example for us as it is written in Isaiah 59:16-17:He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeanceand wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
Are you ready for battle? Do not forget your belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness.