“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth” (Ephesians 6:14).
The concept of girding your waist has to do with using a belt.
Some of the illustrations you see of ancient Roman soldiers wearing a belt show a simple, thin leather strap around the waist, but that doesn’t accurately depict what the soldiers actually wore or what Paul had in mind when he wrote this description. These belts were large enough and thick enough to connect with the warrior’s breastplate and hold his various implements of warfare, including his scabbard and sword, keeping them close at hand and ready. Strips of leather also hung from the front of the belt to protect the lower body. So these belts were strong and substantial!
Biblically girding yourself tightly with God’s truth enables you to stand firm, immovable, and to protect your vital organs. If I compare the belt to a girdle, women instantly understand what I am talking about. But another way to illustrate this is through an injury I received when I was younger.
One evening when I arrived home from work, I got out of the car, bent down to lift the handle on the garage door, and as I did so, I immediately saw stars. I fell to the ground, moaning in agony. I felt like I was going to die, so my wife and I made a trip to the emergency room that night.
A doctor diagnosed that I had a herniated disk. To help relieve the pain, he wrapped me up so tight that I felt as if my waist had shrunk five or six inches. I could hardly breathe. Every other part of my body was free to move around, but the wrap around my waist was so firm it kept me upright. That is precisely what Paul had in mind when he wrote about the belt of truth.
Girding ourselves firmly with God’s truth is essential, for it determines whether you and I will stand or fall.
Peter helps to broaden our understanding of what it means to be girded when he says, “Gird up the loins [the deep inward parts of your heart and soul] of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13). The literal translation of the Greek text here refers to preparing your mind for action. The idea is that of a man gathering the folds of his long garment and tucking the garment into his belt so that he can move about unhindered.
You and I cannot afford to allow our thoughts to aimlessly flap in the breeze and risk losing our enthusiasm for the things of God and our effectiveness as Christians. In the battle for truth, the opposition is subtle in its attempts to sway our thinking. Be wise regarding who you are listening to and what you are reading. Gird your mind with unadulterated, pure biblical doctrine so that you don’t become loose and lackadaisical concerning spiritual things. As Hebrews 2:1 says, “We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
When you walk in the truth of God’s Word, it illuminates everything around you that is shadowy and distorted. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). You are to hold up the truth like a lantern and walk in its light. But to do so, you must assimilate it into your life.
The entire Bible lays down truths we should know—line upon line, precept upon precept. Our responsibility is to follow the example of the Berean believers in Acts 17:11. They searched the Scriptures daily to determine whether the teachings they were hearing lined up with Old Testament prophecies and doctrines.
And for that there is no substitute but to consume the Bible on a regular basis and determine to put it into practice.
