Put it on: Breastplate of Righteousness
In the post about the breastplate I shared a lot about the warfare that takes place and the different parts of our ego that we’re confronted with.
For me, I always have to face my inner critic that’s fed the anxiety and depression I’ve struggled with for years. Negative, limiting, and undercutting thoughts, ideas, and suggestions creep in and attack me viciously, expediently, and without ceasing. With every sharp word that pierces my heart comes a heavy fist of lies that batters my mind. Jab after jab, I’m pummeled until I’m on the ground in a fetal position, head clutched behind my hands and tucked between my knees. In tears, I find myself crying out to God for help, and that’s when He reminds me of who He is.
I remember that He is just, right, and true. I remember that His righteousness is that He made me right with Him and put me in right standing with Him through Christ, and He does this every single day. I remember everything about Him and me is right. I remember that a part of the righteousness of God is that He is faithful and will not let me be harmed. I remember that He is good and will always uphold me and keep me from death. I remember that through His righteousness I am free from the clutches of death [in the spirit] and have the promise of life. I remember that it’s by Him I am saved, will be saved, and am being saved.
I remember that His righteousness holds my heart and heals my heart all at the same time. I remember that His righteousness turns my heart and mind away from strife and toward new life. I remember that His righteousness is His transformative and redemptive love for me which stands the test of time. It’s what covers and keeps me every day of my life, protecting me from what’s on the outside and healing what’s on the inside. My memories upheld by the Truth of God — alters and signposts that give me hope. And it’s at these alters my heart is restored. I’m able to spring up into renewal, and to finally breathe again.
As I come out of a defeated position, and up into a firmly footed and planted one, I continue to war with the enemy assured that I am the righteousness of God and I have the righteousness of God. With one deep breath, I defend myself. Blow after blow, I remember the blood in me and the breath in my lungs comes from God. I’m not only safe and secure, but I’m full and set free to stand firm in the truth that my God is strong even in my weakness. I have the victory in Christ because He said so. So, I stand my ground and let His righteousness be the banner, refuge, and fortress for my heart, breath, and. every vital part of my body that would be vulnerable without Him.
The breastplate of righteousness can have that affect. It guards our hearts with all diligence because the righteousness of God never sleeps. It keeps us encouraged, assured, and confident. It heals our heart wounds and keeps us restored and will recover us from our pain. His righteousness, not ours but His.
Since starting this study, I’ve been experiencing warfare in ways that are directly associated with the parts of the armor I teach about. I took a heavy hit at the beginning of this month (March 2021) that required understanding the necessity of the breastplate. Truthfully, I can’t say this enough — it’s God’s righteousness that shields our hearts and breath and vital parts from death and vulnerability to death.
During my battle, I had to surround myself with the truth of God in prayer, thought, and consumption. I journaled the truth of the Spirit and used a CBT Therapy Notebook to journal about the emotional and mental turmoil, in order to reframe and redirect. I had to separate myself from anything that would have caused me more heartbreak. Most importantly, I ensured that if I was to say anything about myself, it would be only the truth of what God says about me and what He says about Him. That didn’t come by just saying it; I had to face myself. I had to be honesty about my weakness and the strife and pain of what I was experiencing. I had to make room for the truth of God to prevail and for His righteousness to come upon me so that I wouldn’t die.
We put on the righteousness of God every time we make the choice to encompass ourselves with His truth and fill our hearts with it. When we speak aloud in prayer, confession, and worship, we speak life into our hearts and breathe new life into our lungs. The floodgates of heaven open to pour out a double portion of that so that our hearts and that very breath are then covered with His righteousness. We speak the truth of what we believe over a thing according to the word of God. We choose to, especially in our weakness, be surrounded on all sides by what is true, right, holy, worthy of praise, and just.
We believe that He has made us right. We believe that He is right. We believe that the will of God is right. We believe that the character of God is right. We believer that every word He’s spoken over our lives is right. And we stand firm in that, reminded that it is His righteousness that will keep our hearts protected and healed properly.
Yes, we experience warfare. Yes, we experience trouble, Yes, we experience unfortunate and unexpected inconveniences and discomforts and pain in life. Yes, all of these things are true and we are always meant to feel the grief of those things. And when the grief becomes too heavy a burden to the point where we begin to condemn ourselves into damnation, we must remember that our hearts are guarded and upheld by the truth. We must remember to breathe again, and breathe in new life to come out, stand up, stand tall, and stand our ground.
Things I’ve done to help me put on the righteousness of God:
Saying that I’ve put it on — this might sound trivial but it’s the simple thing. The most simple thing can always be the most profound. All of these other things don’t create the breastplate of righteousness; truthfully, all they do is help me to keep it on. They remind me to keep choosing to wear it. Putting the armor on, for me, always starts and ends with making a clear decision to put it on and declare that it’s on. Once we declare it, I believe, it’s always there and available to us.
Journaling — I journal affirming truth about myself, my situation, and God that’s supported by His promises to me spoken and written. Something new I’ve been implementing is keeping a separate journal for these affirmations and reading them out loud as soon as I’m finished. I also finish off with an affirmation about myself, the Truth of God, and what will happen.
Being mindful of what I consume — what I consume during times of warfare is vital to proper recovery. I like listening to worship music that affirms the actual posture of my heart. I ensure that if there are songs that stand out to me, I create playlists. I don’t engage in conversations or watch or read things that can be a stumbling block for healing.
Facing myself and admitting I need help — One of the best things I’ve heard about Christ was that He is a man of sorrows, which means that He’s not unfamiliar with or burdened by our pain. I get as honest and vulnerable as possible about my disappointment and hurt, and still choose to admit aloud that God’s grace is sufficient in my weakness. This isn’t always an easy thing to do, so when I’m able to I also celebrate that moment of vunlerability. Something new I’ve learned is that this has just as much to do with the desires we have and the dreams and hopes we keep hidden in our hearts and minds as it does with the dark parts of who we are.
Reading the Word of God (Bible) and asking for application — the Psalms is a great place to go for the heart. Wisdom is so important to me, and having wisdom and understanding are crucial for my calling and purpose anyway. When there are scriptures that stand out to me, I write them down and take note of any deeper revelation or questions that come up.
Being kind to myself by treating myself well — I don’t always do this when the grief is fresh, especially when it’s a deeper wound than others. It’s really hard to do when I’m spiraling and having a depressive episode. When that happens, I’m mindful to choose patience, gentleness, and tenderness when it’s needed
Speaking directly against the lie after I allow my pain to be heard (by me) — the CBT notebook I mentioned earlier has helped a lot with this because it’s a great tool *for me* to combat anxious and unhealthy thought patterns
Something new I’m doing: discerning who to talk to and share what’s going on with — this one is crucial for me because I’m learning that not everyone needs to know everything and that doesn’t determine their position of importance in my life. it’s more about who God has equipped to stand in the gap and walk with me during my fight.
Prayer — this aligns with getting really real with God about who I am, where I am, what I don’t like, what I want, etc. I pray, and I don’t always do it eyes closed and head bowed. I talk. I open the floor for honest conversation however it comes out of my mouth. Sometimes I can get into this habit of praying “a certain way” because it “sounds good,” but these moments don’t require me to sound good to be heard. That’s a lie of the enemy. The truth is that we only have to speak the truth and sound like ourselves before our Heavenly Father who knows us.
Declaring the truth and what’s been promised to me — this one is big because it also is tied to my spiritual gifts and callings. The enemy often tries to shut up my confidence in my ability to speak and say a thing I believe God has spoken over me, to me, and about me. So, I start by declaring what is true about God according to scripture. Then, I start with what that means for me. Then, when I’m full and emboldened, I stand and declare the truth of what I believe has been promised to me. There’s so much power in the words that are spoken from our mouths because they breathe life into everything around us and everything within us. When we speak directly to the enemy and over ourselves, we take on an active role in our defense during times of spiritual warfare. We breathe life, air, into our lungs that will send oxygen to our hearts and revive the blood that pumps through our bodies — sending truth to every single centre of who we are.
