Good morning. I need to be honest, my belt is getting close to not fitting. And that’s the truth. Let us take a look together at some words of encouragement when it comes to our belt – the belt of truth. It’s time to belt up with the truth.
I’ve had short moments of hope when my belt fit well before last year. But that time has passed once again. I’ve shared with several folks about how my wife and I tested positive for COVID 19. Then over the period of the next year I got COVID 20. One of my friends had a confused look on their face and asked, “COVID 20?” And I responded that the 20 was the weight I gained during the COVID pandemic. I’ve once again found myself on the last notch of my belt.
The good news is, the belt Paul calls the belt of truth fits me no matter what size my earth suit is. I believe one size fits all! What is the belt of truth as Paul puts it in his writings to the Ephesians?
Ephesians 6:14a
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…
The belt holds everything in place, it holds it all together. When defending one’s self from an attack, you need everything to stay in place. Any shifting can throw you off from being able to respond appropriately. In the early days the belt, as a part of the armor, not only held the sword but strips of armor hanging from it to protect vital organs. It also held other weapons, a rope and even food rations.
The belt represents truth…
The belt represents honesty, integrity and truthfulness with God which is reflected with others and to others. That’s why it’s time to belt up with the truth.
This nice thing about God’s truth is that if put in the form of a belt, there are sizes to fit all of us. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about different truths or faiths. I am talking about the truth of God, which is God’s word, for all of us no matter where we are in the size of life.
As we get more familiar with the belt of truth, that means we are more familiar with Jesus. Why, because Jesus is the truth. The truth is God’s word, and Jesus is that very living word.
And again referring to the belt of truth, it makes us more familiar with the other needed and vital pieces of armor. It all relates back to the word of truth (the word of God) which is who Jesus is.
The Truth Sets Us Free
Challenge of the Day: The truth (Jesus) sets us free from the lies of the enemy. The truth in our lives allows us to reflect the truth of mercy and grace to others to set them free. Set someone free today with the belt of truth. Maybe it’s you that needs set free. So be it!
So to sit here and say that I read this while wide awake and fully aware would be a lie. I hit snooze many times and finally got up and turned the lights on and opened my phone.
The first thing I did was read this message and I did not read it comprehensively. I missed out on some of the message and looked over the message.
To get on with it, I realized that this message was very important for me today.
I have been trying to belt up with the truth in my own life and become a more successful and happy person. On my way into class I realized how happy I was.
During class I was asking who prayed for me and why I was so happy and full today. I then shared with a close friend that I was very happy today and it was a long time coming.
She then revealed to me that she had been praying for my happiness and for me to go in the right direction.
In way, being truthful to myself and doing what I needed to do to be more successful had led me to feel closer to God and help me feel more free.
Without reading the challenge I then went on to help out this same friend with some personal problems and try to motivate them and give them insight on some problems she was going through.
I helped her push through the negative thoughts and upsetting situation she was in. I helped her feel empowered and motivated just as I had felt this morning, but by telling her the truth of what she needed to do in order to use these negative thoughts in a positive way.
I am now in bed writing this reply and decided to review the devotional one more time and it is incredible how today has worked out. I had accomplished the daily challenge without even realizing what the challenge was.
I now feel like I am one step closer to God by attempting to follow my own truths throughout my day. Getting closer to the truth of God and seeing past the negative thoughts I have been carrying.
Wow! That’s really amazing Elias. Thank you so much for sharing the detail of how walking with Jesus, walking in His word, His truth, makes a difference in your regular everyday life. So be it!
I recently had a conversation with a friend who is raising a teen and preteen. He is trying to figure out how to talk with them about the ever-changing morals and ‘truth’ they see around them every day. “How do I help them respond to friends who may feel like boys today and girls tomorrow? How do I tell them what truth is when someone is demanding that they concede that LGBTetc is how they are born?”
“Tell them the truth that doesn’t change. Tell them the Truth that has always been the Truth”, was where landed. Being a believer, he agreed.
Whether back in Deuteronomy when truth meant you couldn’t enter the Promised Land because you disobeyed (or disagreed, important to note) with Truth, or today when ‘leaders’ (loosely defined) lobby to change truth making sex with children the norm, God has told us what IS true.
He doesn’t need to “run it past us first”, there will be no addendum or retraction. God was gracious enough to write it down for us. It was truth before anything existed and will be truth long after everything we can touch, feel, or see has passed.
I’m going with Truth that doesn’t change.
Thanks Chuck. Yes, tough issues of today that young (all) people are dealing with in all cultures. But regardless of the culture, settings, or country (all are always changing), the truth doesn’t change. Otherwise, we could must make up whatever we wanted to fit what we wanted. Another great part of God’s truth is that God amazing grace and love. I’m going with Truth that doesn’t change as well! :o)
So important that our reference for truth is God’s truth and not the world’s truth. The belt of truth is key to our victory. Our enemy is a master deceiver – if our reference is wrong we are powerless!
Great comment Sheri, and that’s the truth! :o) The truth of God’s word (embodied in Jesus) is our power, and all the power we need.