CWW - Week 13 - Day 3 - The Armour Of God
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The Armour Of God
Scripture:
Ephesians 6:14
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
Devotional.
The Breast Plate of Righteousness symbolises living a righteous life, protected by the righteousness imparted by Jesus.
Living a righteous life does not mean performing in order to look righteous and pious. Being self righteous is the opposite to being righteous in the imparted righteousness of Jesus.
The difference being that one form elevates self as though we are living the perfect life in our own strength and the other is living the best life possible in Christ’s strength.
One supports selfishness and ego, while the other implies a love centred on others.
There was a time in my life when having a crowd chanting my name would have done my head in. I would have enhanced my performances in the public square in ways that would have promoted me rather than my message.
I have been led to examine how I was able to walk up onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people and speak as if to two or three. I am so grateful to God that this is so, because I have realised a certain growth and maturity in myself and an ease that comes from a knowing that anything I say is not of me but of a Higher power than mine because I have none.
Humility
A life lived in the righteousness of Christ is a life lived in humility because we realise that He alone has the power and therefore the glory. Righteousness means living a life of serviceto others for the glory of God and not self. It demands that we allow Jesus to lead every aspect of our lives in ways that clearly shine a light on Him and not self.
The apostle Paul once wrote, “ not I but Christ who lives in me.”
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV): “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
I have come to realise how much freedom that really brings me. When I know that the glory of anything I do for the right reasons is not mine but His, then I can be me. I no longer have to perform. I live my life by walking the walk because my faith commands it of me. I am no longer the Captain, He is, and all I have to do is surrender control to Him totally.
My safety is guaranteed by my faith in Him and I am able to better defend myself against the challenges thrown at me by satan and evil.
This is a true and sure example that my greatest strength is in my vulnerability. I admit I am powerless in my own strength but a conquerer in His. All I am required to do is believe in Him and bear witness to His glory and not my own.
Each day dedicated to others in the name of Christ is a day well spent and most rewarding. Life is so much easier when we do God’s work instead of trying to do His job.
We too often condemn others for their behaviour without understanding the pain that drives it. We see this on social media when self promoting click baiters and likes chasers strive to increase a following. I often condemn their behaviours until I realise that in most cases, this, being their method, points to a lack of love and a feeling of irrelevance being their driving motivation. When I see them too, as the children of God, it helps me to love them as much as I may dislike their behaviour.
Walking upright in a righteous manner is enhanced when we stoop to serve. I do all in God’s power not to look down on anyone unless I am helping them up. My greatest chink in my own armour is hypocrisy and I feel most wretched about myself when I realise that I have succumb to it.
Romans 7:24 (NKJV):
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
In this passage, Paul expresses his struggle with sin and his recognition of his own inadequacy to overcome it on his own. He vividly portrays the tension between the desire to do what is right and the reality of falling short, highlighting the human condition of wrestling with sin and longing for deliverance.
This is the struggle that requires the full intervention of the Holy Spirit but it is a journey that provides incredible character development and isn’t that why we are on this road together?
We can only face our enemy, who is often our self, in the full armour of He who created us. That’s why I love this verse in the book of Joshua.
Joshua 24:15 (NKJV):
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
We have two options from which to choose. It becomes that simple. We either cower in the dark or stand in the light.
The armour of God is there to protect you if you make the right choice.
Who will you serve?
Questions.
- Do you feel like you’re on the performance treadmill?
- Can you imagine a life where you can live and be just as God created you?
- Can you comprehend a righteous life that is based on Who you know and not what you know?
Prayer.
Dear Lord, Papa God.
Thank you for creating me and loving me just as I am, with all my flaws and defects of character. Help me Papa to walk in Your glory and bath in your endless mercy and unconditional love. Thank you Jesus for paying the ferry man in my behalf so that I may walk in your righteousness as imparted to me at the cross. Today may I seek others in your name and share the glory of this freedom that you alone have given me. For this is my prayer in Your most precious and Holy name; the name above all names.
Amen.
Graham Hood
