You Already Have What You Need Part 3
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, [...] with the breastplate of righteousness in place.”
Welcome back! We’re on part three of “You Already Have What You Need” and part two of the “full armor of God.” I have to be transparent with you - this past week was difficult for me. I hit a low and found it hard to pull myself out. I guess you could say that I felt weaker than I did prepared and armed. I’m so grateful for my friends, my husband, and those who are obedient to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to check on me. They helped me fix my armor through something as small as texts. So this is your reminder that God rarely calls us to do the simple. We stumble, we fall, we fear, and we doubt. Then we get back up and press on to do better. Our armor should evolve as we do, getting stronger as we gain wisdom and build faith. Never feel as if you’re alone or that you’re too far gone or that you’ve messed up too many times. God’s grace and mercy are abundant, and He continues to provide us with what we need regardless of where we are on our own individual journeys. We have to keep putting on our armor...
The breastplate is arguably the most important part of the armor. It does, after all, protect the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Breastplates during the time Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians would have been made of iron, sometimes bronze. We can assume they were heavy and probably a little awkward, but they were necessary. Going into battle without a breastplate would basically shrink your chances of surviving to zero.
So, in shifting our mindset to the armor of God, we can understand just how important the breastplate of righteousness is. It means life or death, swift defeat or valiant victory. By the way, don’t allow the word “righteousness” to be intimidating. It simply means not sinning - understanding what sin is and its consequences, turning away from sin, and doing what’s right in the eyes of God. It’s spiritual integrity in its most basic form. Also, don’t let theology determine what righteousness is for you, learn it on your own; it’s all written out in the Bible, accessible and comprehensible (start at the Message Bible if you must; if you’re interested in a Biblical example of righteousness, look here)! Study God’s laws and gain an understanding of them. Build a relationship with God that allows you to recognize and heed convictions on a personal level. Trust me, through relationship, the Holy Spirit will tell you right from wrong; it’s our obedience - or disobedience - that is typically the problem. Then, society will tell us time and time again that it’s okay to take off our breastplate once in a while, or that it’s not that big of a deal to even put it on in the first place. But we have to believe beyond a doubt that we are indeed under attack and that the risk of leaving the breastplate behind is too great. For those of us with chronic conditions who battle every single day, it is absolutely necessary for us to always wear this protection.
How exactly does the breastplate of righteousness work? Sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 says “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Therefore, the more righteous we are, the closer we are to Him - meaning the more protection we have. He will protect us in battle according to how much we have shown we love Him, by our words, actions, and thoughts. Iron (the kind used in the breastplates Paul was referencing) is highly magnetic. The bigger and more dense, the more magnetic. For us, this means the greater the righteousness, the more forceful the pull towards Him (He is the source of magnetism).
Iron is also naturally forming, and it’s my personal belief that most of us have at least a small amount of righteousness built into us when God forms us in our mothers’ wombs. But like iron in the Earth, righteousness must be extracted - dug up and purified through intense heat (tests and adversity), and combined with other elements (teachings, relationships, etc.) to become stable and usable. It’s a process. The path of righteousness is difficult to navigate and stay on. We stumble, we backslide, sometimes we even sin knowingly. Plus, society (under the influence of the god of this world) is continually working against us. As Paul said, we all fall short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23). But Christ paid way too high of a price for us to buckle under the pressure of sin and throw our breastplates away. Our freedom comes from the blood of Jesus that covers all of our wrongs and allows us to continue moving forward. If we choose not to put on the breastplate of righteousness, not only are we are abusing that freedom, but we are also abusing our position as children of God. As His children, we are called to continually seek righteousness. We already have access to the breastplate through the Word and the Holy Spirit, we just have to put it on - and leave it on - with bold intention.