How Strong Is Your Spiritual Core?
From the Armor Series
“Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist.” Ephesians 6:14a CSB
I had a few health issues a few years ago and started going to the gym to get in shape. There I met a lady who was a personal trainer, and we quickly became friends. I started working with her a few times a week. It was painful at first because my body was very much out of shape, but it didn’t take long before I started feeling more energized from our workouts.
We alternated our workouts with weights, cardio, lunges, and a plethora of other exercises. But there was always one exercise that I dreaded every single time.
The plank.
I’ll be honest. The very first time she had me do the plank wasn’t pretty. I don’t think I even lasted ten seconds. Did I mention I was severely out of shape? But the more and more we engaged in this exercise the better my outcome was. I quickly went to thirty seconds. Next, I was able to last a minute. Each time I gained strength until I was finally able to accomplish more than a minute.
At first, I didn’t understand why I needed to spend time doing this awful exercise that clearly wasn’t pleasant. However, I quickly learned that I needed to strengthen my core and the plank did just that. What I didn’t know at the time was the state and condition of my core affected everything. Every motion that I made or couldn’t make was a result of how strong or weak my core was.
As we have mentioned in our armor series, the enemy is a master illusionist with a degree in deception. He prides himself on getting us to trust our feelings instead of trusting God. The problem with trusting our feelings is that feelings don’t have intellect. Friend, feelings aren’t smart. They can change on a whim depending on the circumstances.
Therefore, we need to use the part of our armor that can combat the enemy’s lies. We need to put on the belt of truth just like it says in Ephesians 6:14, “Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist”.
I heard Priscilla Shirer say once that we can usually tell the difference between right and wrong, but we need to pray, “God, help us to tell the difference between right and almost right.”
We must remember that the enemy’s main tool is deception. He packages things so clever that unless we know the truth, we become an easy target and fall prey to his schemes. Truth – God’s truth – is our core support. It’s our spiritual plank.
Truth is our starting place - It’s what holds us together. We can stand tough and strong when we base our decisions on the truth of God’s word. We will talk more about the belt of truth this week but for now, I want to leave you with two questions to ponder.
How do you define truth in your life?
How have you handled the moments when your desires haven’t matched up with God’s word?
If you have struggled in this area, I promise you are not alone. Friend, It’s a struggle for me too. But starting today, we can and will do things differently and I can’t wait to get started!
Dear God,
Thank you for your word. It truly is trustworthy and true. Teach me Lord how to put on the belt of truth. Help me God to know the difference between right and almost right. Strengthen my spiritual core with your truth so that I can stand firm against the enemy. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“Everything exposed by the light is made visible for what makes everything visible is light.”
Ephesians 5:13-14 CSB