Flotation Belt

READ: JOHN 8:32; EPHESIANS 6:10-20

I participate in a unique physical therapy program for a spine condition I have. Before getting into a swimming pool, I snap on a wide, thick flotation belt, which makes my body very buoyant. With this big blue belt around my midsection, I go to the deep end and stay upright. In that position, I can do all sorts of exercises to help my spine condition improve. And I am improving, as the vertebrae “decompress” in that nearly gravity-free environment.

Part of the program involves just hanging still, weightless, held up by that belt alone. The spine enjoys a nice decompression that way. The belt holds me up, and I can just be still. My flotation belt reminds me of the belt of truth that Paul describes in Ephesians 6. Paul says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil…Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist” (verse 11, 14).

For the Roman soldier, the belt not only held his clothing in place (kind of essential), but was also vital for holding the short, effective Roman sword. That belt was indispensable.

Truth is indispensable as well. Without a firm understanding of who God is, and who we are in Christ, we are liable to fall for all sorts of lies. Believing lies is easy; we often don’t even know it when we have fallen for some lie from our enemy. That’s why we are instructed to “put on” the belt of truth, knowingly, purposely binding the truths of God around us. Because truth has power. Knowing that God seeks us, that He wants us, that from the beginning He planned a way to include us in His family through Jesus’s death and resurrection, and that He loves us with an everlasting love, counters the lies that tell us differently.

Of course, none of us is perfect, and until Jesus returns we will continue to find ourselves straying from the truth. But that’s okay. In John 14:6, Jesus tells Thomas this astounding statement: “I am…the truth.” Like my flotation belt, Jesus will hold us up when we are over our heads in a sea of crazy untruths. We won’t drown. Even when we fall into believing lies, Jesus will hold us in His love (Exodus 14:14; Romans 8:38-39). Floating with His flotation belt of truth snuggly wrapped around us, we can be still in Him, safe and secure. • Kristen Merrill

• Our world has been broken by sin, so it can be hard to distinguish lies from truth. Thankfully, God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His people to help us. Who are trusted Christians in your life who can remind you of the gospel and help you identify lies you might be believing?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (CSB)