Do you view your life as if you are on the battlefield, engaging in a full fledged war every day?
For years, I lived my life through the lens of rose colored glasses, up until I experienced my first heartbreaking loss (the death of my dad), which triggered a domino effect of loss upon loss for the next 10 years of my life. This past decade has been relentless, yet I’m still standing. Not because of anything I have done in my own strength, but only through the gift God has given us: His armor and His righteousness.
Worship is a weapon I have become closely acquainted with as I’ve walked through dark valleys time and time again. Staying tethered to Christ is how I have remained hope-filled and joyful, even among the ashes of grief and disappointment.
Life can be both breathtakingly hard and beautifully good.
It may sound like I still have a hue of rose in my lens, but what I have learned is that perspective is everything. Not a worldly perspective, but a biblical one.
The breastplate of righteousness is not about our righteousness but God’s.
We have access to His righteousness because of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. Through the crucifixion of Christ, we were not only given eternal life, but we get to claim His righteousness and walk in that gift each and every day.
God’s righteousness protects our hearts, the very thing the enemy is after.
Satan wants our hearts, and his mission is to lead us into temptation and steal, kill, and destroy. He uses bait like money, lust, and disappointment to lure us into a trap that you and I were never created for.
Unfortunately, our sinful nature interferes with righteous living. When we choose our own desires and allow our emotions to dictate our behavior and responses to our circumstances, we can end up making poor decisions that ultimately hurt us, as well as those around us. So, how do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? It begins with understanding how to live righteously so that when trials and tribulations come our way, we are equipped with what we need to respond biblically and stand firm.
For the past five years I have been harassed, defamed, and falsely accused of things no mother would ever want to be accused of. This situation resulted in a civil trial in a courtroom where I was on the stand not only giving my personal testimony, but was also cross examined. It was during that cross examination that I continued to thank the Lord for the armor He provided me to not only battle well, but see a victory! The Lord won that battle for me.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”
– Ephesians 6:12
The bait was there for me to take, to respond out of my flesh, but I was committed to “better not bitter.” Without putting on the armor of God every day, I would have failed. I had to combat lies with the truth of who God says I am.
We must know God’s Word to keep a clear mind and clean heart.
We will not be successful in battle without the breastplate of righteousness, as this is the weapon that opposes the dark and keeps our hearts tender. God’s righteousness is the key to overcoming spiritual warfare. We must armor up every day, sisters. The battle is real, but the victory is His!
Fight Forward!
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