“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.” (Ephesians 6:14 NLT)

 

In his description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul doesn’t start with high-profile objects like the sword or the shield. Instead, he begins his list by instructing believers to put on “the belt of truth” (NLT).

To understand the importance of this piece of armor, you need to know a little about the uniforms of Roman soldiers in Paul’s day. Roman soldiers didn’t wear pants like we do today. They wore togas on the battlefield. To move quickly in battle, they would pull their togas above their knees and tighten their belts to keep the togas in place. That gave them the freedom of movement they needed.

The belt was essential to the rest of the armor. The breastplate was attached to it, as was the sheath for the sword. If your belt fell off, your breastplate would fall off, and your toga would come loose. You could have the sharpest sword in the legion and still be ineffective in battle if you were tripping over your own toga and trying to keep your breastplate and sheath in place. So, the belt was important. That’s why Paul put it at the top of the list.

In the armor of God, His truth anchors our faith. In fact, it frames our whole spiritual battle. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). Jesus is the truth.

Our enemy the devil, on the other hand, “has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 NLT). The problem is, he’s a very skilled liar. Every battle tactic he uses is built on a lie—almost always a believable one. With every temptation he puts in our path, he says, “Jesus really isn’t the only way to get what you’re looking for. Here’s something better.”

If we’re to withstand his attacks, we must surround ourselves with the truth. We need to be grounded in God’s Word. We need to “be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT). We need to recognize the devil’s lies and call them out for the counterfeits they are.

When we put on the belt of truth, “We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” (Ephesians 4:14 NLT). The truth of God’s Word anchors every other piece of spiritual armor. The more securely you wrap yourself with it—by memorizing it, understanding it, and applying it to your daily life—the more skilled you’ll be in spiritual battle. And the more dangerous you’ll be to your spiritual enemy.

 

Reflection question: What are some dangerous lies the devil tries to convince people to believe? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

—

The audio production of the podcast "Daily Devotions from Greg Laurie" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

Support the show: https://harvest.org/support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.