Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:14.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says
Joy in the morning makes treasure all the day. Love in the evening will keep the dark away. Be careful how you live, which could also be said as “be careful where you are putting your attention.” Strong faith is attention on Me, which is attention on My Word, for I am My Word, and it is focus on Jesus because He is My manifested Word.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2.
You have got a treasure that will keep you in perfect peace in any storm, trial, or deluge of fiery darts for it will stop the tactics of Satan in your life before he can get a stronghold in you because what I have given you puts you in My stronghold and there is no way he can penetrate into that. And that treasure is My armor for you to put on and never put off. And that armor is My Name, My Word, the Blood of Jesus, My Spirit, and the Word in your mouth.
The first piece of armor is the girdle of truth. We talked about that but I am adding a little more. To gird yourself means to encircle or bind with a belt or band, to surround, enclose, but it also means to prepare (oneself) for action, to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength. The phrase “gird up your loins,” as used when Elijah outran Ahab’s chariot, means to get all the loose ends and hindrances that would stop you from running your race unencumbered out of the way.
Then the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46.
When you are girded in the truth, which is My Word, you are in the stronghold of My Name, Proverbs 18:10, which raises you inaccessibly high and is a bulwark around you, but you are also prepared for action and invested with My Word of power that created and sustains everything. And you will produce only the fruit of My Word in your life if you keep you loins girded with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness. My Word is pure, it cleans and purifies your heart, and then you must wear the breastplate of righteousness to protect your pure heart to keep it from being corrupted and stained by the world.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23.
And how do you guard your heart?
My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Proverbs 4:20-22.
And hearing gives you life and speaking releases that life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:24-27.
You must be established in righteousness to resist the devil’s accusations of your sinfulness and his attempts to make you declare yourself unrighteous and condemned. Because it is by your words you are declared righteous and by your words you are condemned.
We discussed the top priority of being established in My righteousness to resist the devil in Life Lesson No. 10 so it is good to read that again and then continue on with this Life Lesson.
The breastplate of righteousness frees your heart from accusation and engages your heart with Me. Seen in the Spirit it is gold, radiating light, and gold denotes My righteousness. That is why you could see nothing but gold in the inner court of the Holy Place before going behind the veil, and once behind the veil in the Holy of Holies all you see is gold as well. All wood, which symbolizes man, for you are like a tree planted with your roots in the underground springs of the continuous flow of the Spirit, was covered in gold inside the tent of the tabernacle, symbolizing that Jesus has given you My righteousness, you are encased and protected by it.
The only silver in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies was the pedestals on which the wooden boards covered in pure gold stood before My Ark and Holy things. You are established and standing on redemption ground for silver is the metal of redemption. It was five silver shekels that redeemed the firstborn Israelites, Numbers 18:16, and the silver half shekel that redeemed those recorded at the census. Exodus 30:13.
The gold covering the wood of man with My righteousness, so that no wood any longer showed, is showing you the breastplate of righteousness and the silver pedestals of redemption upon which the golden boards stood symbolizes the next piece of My armor for you, the footgear of the gospel of peace.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:14.
These are the prophesied beautiful feet that bring good news of Salvation, not bad news of talebearing and gossip. Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of shalom peace.
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces shalom peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation (Yeshuah)! Isaiah 52:7.
Walk through your day with your feet standing on redemption ground and tread down the devil and his demons. And you will have peace that passes all understanding. And you tread on the devil by answering his lies with the truth of My Word.
When Satan attacks, he will always try to take away your peace. Jesus gave you His peace, so you have it, but it is not automatic. When believers beg Me for peace, it means they have no idea what they have been freely given in Christ and are badly in need of renewing their minds.
There is a difference in already having something, such as healing, that My Son won for you, and keeping hold of it compared to thinking you don’t have it and trying to get Me to give it to you.
The problem is I already have given it to you and you can have peace about experiencing it, but no matter how much My Word in the Bible assures you of that if you have decided you don’t have it or cannot attain it, you will never enjoy the benefits you actually have if you would just receive them.
And you will have no peace because you have decided you don’t have it and it seems I am not giving it to you. This essentially is why the Israelites of the generation I redeemed out of Egypt never enjoyed the land I promised them. They never believed they already had it given to them and all they had to do was go in and take possession of what they already possessed by My promise. Faith is the assurance of (title deed to) things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
If you want to resist and take down the devil you must walk in peace—not strife, enmity, anger, bitterness, worry, fear, turmoil, confusion, and whatever else robs you of peace. And that is why the next piece of My armor that is so important, “The footgear of the gospel of peace.”
When Joshua was faced with what in human terms seemed an impossible task I assured him of victory if he would focus only on My Word as the truth to walk in. And I promised him something amazing that turned out true for him because he followed by advice with respect to the Word.
“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Joshua 1:3-6.
And how could he be strong and very courageous in the face of giants, fortified cities, and an obstinate people he was leading? I told him, by keeping all things in subjection to My Word as truth, “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9.
I was talking to Joshua about renewing his mind. An uncontrolled, undisciplined mind leaves you wide open for the attacks of Satan. What you let into your mind and think upon will determine your success or failure. And that is what I taught Joshua and am teaching you. My Word will keep you but only if you will set your mind on it.
I make you a promise of peace: I will keep in perfect peace (double shalom) those who have their minds stayed on Me because they trust in Me. Trust in Me forever, for in Me, you have an everlasting Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4. And how do you keep your mind stayed on Me, resting and established in Me? By keeping your mind on My Word at all times as your answer, for I am My Word. My Word and I are one. And there we are back to the girdle of truth but also the footgear of the Gospel of peace.
And you have far more Word to meditate on than Joshua did and many more magnificent promises to assure you of your healing, prosperity, forgiveness, and comfort. And in all situations, you have peace given to you by the one whose Name I call “Prince of Peace.”
The night before He suffered to make peace through the blood of His Cross, Jesus told you, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27. And here again you see My part is to give you peace and your part is to control your mind. And you can do this because I have given you My Spirit who will share My thoughts with you, tell you things to come, remind you of all I have said, and lead you in the way you should go.
And He does not lead you by fear, for He is not a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound, peaceful, self-controlled, and calm mind. I gave you My peace in My Son and now you are not to let Satan take what is yours away from you by deceit. He knows that if you stay in peace in the Spirit no matter what he tries to say to you he cannot penetrate into your thought life. You will resist him and keep walking in the footgear of peace—the good news of good things you have in Christ Jesus.
If thoughts come to you, and they will, that cause you fear, know that a wrong spirit has shown up to torment you, one I did not give you, and Jesus gave you authority in His Name to cast out every demon and trample it underfoot. So you have authority over that spirit of fear or infirmity or whatever else it is to resist it and cast it down.
And as you walk out the life of good deeds I have prepared for you in advance in Christ Jesus you must walk it out in peace. Peace with Me, peace with yourself, and peace in the way you think of and deal with others. Try to be at peace with all men as far as it concerns you.
And a person of peace is appreciated in this dark and troubled world that Satan has led you captive into by entertaining and giving in to the wrong thoughts he presents to you as he did to Adam and Eve. He questioned My Word and they did not answer him with My Word as final authority and close the conversation of his words at that point. They let in his words and considered them until what he said pushed them to act contrary to My Word and immediately the spirit of fear entered their hearts and they did not resist that either but entertained it and hid from Me though I had never showed them anything but generous love.
The devil will lie to you about Me and about My Word and if you have not renewed your mind in My Word you will receive and think upon his lies. And he will have stolen your peace and your power.
No matter what the devil says to you or raises up against you, stay with My Word as the truth and answer every thought with My Word. For though you flesh, you do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of your warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
Many of you are so used to allowing wrong thinking into your minds that you have grown used to worry and fear, do not let the devil set up such a fortress in you. Instead, CAST DOWN imaginations and speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of My Word, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, that is, to the obedience to My Word. And then you will live free from fear and the tormenting thoughts of the unrenewed mind. Why? An unrenewed mind accepts the devil’s thoughts. A renewed mind does not.
But you are not just not to accept the devil’s thoughts, to resist them you also have to answer them. If he brings you symptoms and tells you that you are sick, you have to answer, “Oh no you don’t. I refuse to accept that. By His stripes I was, am, and will stay healed. He bore My infirmities and My pains so I no longer have them.” Then cast that spirit out in the Name of My Son.
It all depends on whose thoughts you yield to. If you are gossiping or judging others, this is not from Me, it is from the evil one. If you are complaining and telling of your financial or health problems, this is not from Me, it is from the evil one. If you find yourself worrying about something in your life and just keep mulling it over, this is not from Me and is meditation day and night on the devil’s word instead of Mine.
But if it is edifying and praiseworthy, gives you hope, strength, and confident joy, it is from Me. So look at your thoughts today and you will know who you were yielding your thoughts to. Your life is a reflection of the one you have yielded to. You are the custodian of your mind and body. I have given you and equipped you with everything you need for life and godliness but it is you that must discipline your mind and your body. Romans 12:1-2.
When you get a bad report or something else that causes you distress, then what do you do? Find what My Word says about the situation and say that in answer to that thought or report. It will make your life a place of peace and you will find great joy in life, more than you ever thought possible. The position of knowing you have all good things in Jesus and just taking possession of those treasures by your thoughts, words, and actions is a beautiful way to live.
How beautiful on the mountains (of troubles and tormenting thoughts) are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces SHALOM (peace, prosperity, healing) and brings good news of good, who announces salvation (Yeshuah). Isaiah 52:7. You are the light the world is waiting for.
And what do the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the footgear of peace all add up to? Days of Heaven on earth for the Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I love you. Who is driving your life? It should be you but the only way you will drive successfully is with a renewed mind and a developed spirit. Put on the right footgear before you start walking out each day.
The Lord LORD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:19