Ephesians 6:14 – “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness”
Yeah! Time to get down to the nitty gritty!
Paul begins the use of the armor with the same word that he concluded the last sentence with – stand. Think that is important? When all else fails, when you have no clue what to do, stand.
“Loins girt about with truth” – Let me give you my perspective on this one. I see this as a belt. You have to remember that in Bible times, they often wore a long dress-type outfit. And in order to run or in preparation to do work, they had to “girt up their loins”. This means that they had to pull the material from the back in between their legs and then tuck the skirt of their outfit into their belt to free up their feet to move quickly and efficiently. The belt is what held their outfit together when they were working or fighting. This isn’t a fashion commentary, just a statement of truth. When I think about this section of this verse, I see the item around the waist holding the whole armor together. When you apply that to life, it is the truth of God’s word that holds us together. Without it, we would be a fish out of water, floundering about and gasping for air. The belt not only holds things together, but it also holds things that one might need – like water or, in today’s world, you phone. The truth of God’s word holds all that we need in life. The answers are all there. You may just have to search them out and think about them for a while.
“Having on the breastplate of righteousness” – We all know what a breastplate is. It is that shield like thing that knights and soldiers of olden days wore across their chest. It protected their vital organs. We have to put on this breastplate to protect our heart – the very thing that makes us who we are. And this is no ordinary breastplate. This one is formed of righteousness. Now, before you totally disregard this notion and think that “there is no way! I’m not a good person!” Remember what righteousness is – right living. It is not perfect living. It is not living religiously. It is living the way that Jesus called us to live – according to the truth. This right living will protect the very essence of who you are. And God will reward those who put forth the effort to live above reproach. It is difficult and the breastplate is heavy. But the rewards far outweigh the struggle.
So in this brief glimpse of the armor of God, we see that truth plays a very important role in our life. And there is only one way to access the truth – read your Bible. Prepare for life. Hide His words in your heart. You will be surprised at the number of times per day that the Word slips into your heart and mind to remind you of what you need to be doing in order to live that righteous life we all desire.
So princess, my challenge for you today is to seek out truth. Gobble it up like your favorite meal. Ingest it and allow your soul to make it part of who you are. If you have it in your heart, the truth can never be taken away from you. So, girt up your loins and put on that breastplate and go out there and…..stand.
The Princess Project 