10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist……” Ephesians 6:10-14
Those of you who attend West Shore often hear me speak about the importance of putting on God’s armor. Following yesterday’s post on “How To Have A Great Day,” I thought it was appropriate to add posts about how putting on the ‘spiritual armor’ helps make our day great. Sonya and I put on His spiritual armor every morning, even when we are not going anywhere and just staying put at home. There seems to be an order in how we put it on beginning with the belt of truth, followed by the breastplate of righteousness, then the shoes of the Gospel of peace, etc.
Today, let’s take a look at the ‘belt of truth.’
The truth is our first line of spiritual defense against the devil. Truth is an indispensable piece of armor; it functions spiritually as the believer’s belt. We can imagine Paul the prisoner glancing over at his guard as he wrote this letter. Undoubtedly, he noticed the thick leather belt around the soldier’s waist, the central piece of equipment he wore. So the apostle begins his list of spiritual armor by writing metaphorically about the belt that we are to wear: As the soldier’s belt was placed at the center of his body, so truth must be central in our lives, encompassing all that we do if we are to be prepared for the fight with Satan, our crafty foe.
By truth we bind up everything in our lives that is loose that might cause us to stumble in spiritual battle. Without truth girded about us, we will stumble and be overtaken. …It [the belt of truth] is strategic in the spiritual sense because without it, nothing else will stay in place. Without the belt of truth, we are exposed and utterly vulnerable to the devil’s schemes and are unable to stand against him
Just as we would not walk out of our house in the dead of winter in Montana without ‘bundling up,’ we shouldn’t start the day without putting on ALL of God’s spiritual armor.
