ICS Daily Devotions
The Breastplate of Righteousness
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The wiles and schemes of the devil are not solely directed on sifting our faith through persecution because there is nothing good in him. We are talking about all form of wickedness in the aspect of sickness, illnesses, oppression, obsession, depression and stealing our possession, our peace, our joy, things that God has blessed us with and every possible evil that we can ever imagine. These are the evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm that we are reading about in the Bible.
The devil will take hold of our guilt and hold us in condemnation with his accusation so that you will not believe God for the breakthrough. He wants you to throw in the towel and quit! He will lie to you by saying that God is punishing you, tormenting you and abandoning you, and that you are in an absolute hopeless situation. He will accuse you and bring back to your remembrance all the sins in your life.
Rev 12:10 (NASB) Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
The time for the devil to be thrown into the fiery furnace is not up yet. Therefore, he is still accusing and condemning us before God and whispering it in our minds. We must be careful not to allow him to condemn us nor think that God is taking heed to his condemnation and accusation because God will be looking at the blood of Jesus and He sees you as in Christ! Therefore, it is important for you to see yourself as the Father sees you, or else you will be falling under the deception of devil.
The first thought that comes to our mind when a crisis hits us will often be “What have I done wrong to deserve this?” Some people with good intentions will begin to process with you the past that might have contributed to your current problem. If we continue to dwell on the wrongdoings of the past, we will start looking at our worthiness based on our own strength and we will never be able to do enough to get out of the situation. And it will make us feel discouraged. This will become the devil’s playground where he will condemn you and never allow you to feel a sense of worth. He will deceive you by using your love for God to continue dwelling in or glorifying the suffering.
While it is good to deal with habitual sin or wrong decision made in the flesh, once we have repented of it then we should move on by returning back to God and seek His face. However, we must not have falsely strong consciousness of sin of the past which is already cleansed by the blood. We must dwell on the righteousness that we have in Christ.
The devil would always hit us at the most fatal part of our lives which will be our heart, especially regarding our right standing with God! The greatest way to stand against all the wiles of the evil one is to ensure that the breastplate is in place.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
The crisis might not be resolved immediately but one of the greatest defensive weapons that has to be on you will be the breastplate of righteousness! Righteousness is a positional truth given to us as one of the many spiritual blessings! We may not be putting on the breastplate of righteousness if we think that we earn our right standing with God based on our own actions and deeds. While there is a need to be righteous and holy in our action, we need to remember that the breastplate is given by God.
The breastplate of righteousness is given to us in the new creation but not many people are putting it on because we are still very self-conscious. We are not really acknowledging what Christ has done for us and given us! However, it can be very fatal when we are hit on the heart by the fiery darts thrown by the enemy. It determines whether we will be able to stand up again or to stand in the midst of the trial. God protects the righteous by building a hedge around him. God’s eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their cries.
Take time to meditate on the promises of God today. Sometimes when we don’t see the hand of God moving, we need to trust in His character. What He has promised, He will surely fulfil at His appointed time!
Sermon series: Inner Man
