Lesson 5: Belt of Truth, part 2

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,

Paul says Truth is what this belt symbolizes. It is God's truth that we need to keep us from falling apart. God's truth holds all things together! It prepares us for battle. It gets us equipped so we do not lose the fight! One man puts it this way: "To be clothed with God's truth simply means we are to be sincerely committed to the truth. In other words, I am totally sold out to who God is. I am totally sold out to what God has done. I am totally sold out to what God has said. I am yielded to Him. It is the truth, it is His truth, and I am now completely surrendered to Him and what He says about life.

Why is truth armor? Why is it so important in warfare? We live in a dark and deceptive world. The Bible says the devil deceives the whole world. That is actually in the present tense, which means the devil is constantly deceiving the whole world. This whole world is under the deception of darkness continually. This is why God calls us to be a light in the midst of that darkness. This is what Ephesians teaches us. But if we are going to stand firm and fight in this darkness, we must wear God's truth. Why? Because it takes His armor to counteract the darkness and deception we face daily.


The Belt of Truth has to be put on by me. Paul goes on to say we do not just look at this belt of truth, we do not just stare at it, or hang it on the wall as a nice Christian decoration to impress our friends; he says to, "buckle it around your waist." This is something that only the individual can do. No one can do it for you. It is a choice we make constantly, always choosing to be affected, to be totally committed to that which God says, to His truth, to what He is, and that which He has done. To be girded with truth means that I am sincerely, totally, wholly committed to truth. Obviously, that involves God's Word.

Therefore, I alone must choose every day to allow that truth to influence and totally surround my life. No one else can read the Bible for you. You cannot read it for me. I cannot make you go to Bible studies or Church services to learn the Bible. And you cannot do that for me. You might feel guilty about it and it is good to be invited or invite someone else. But the best-case scenario is when each individual takes their own initiative and makes themselves available for Bible study. Nobody has to twist their arm. And notice it is not once a week; it is every day! Why? Because the battle is going on every day! Therefore, every day I need to get God's Truth on! Paul is basically saying if you want to be an effective soldier, you must take your own daily personal initiative to immerse yourself into God's Word!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are Truth and I need You to be the anchor for all my armor in this warfare You have asked me to join on behalf of the many You still want to save around me.