Heavenly Father, I give You praise for today. I give You praise for seeking me and for saving me from sin. I give You praise for making me unique with talents and ministry within who I am. I praise You for Your word and for the wisdom I am learning every day. Help me to use that understanding to apply that wisdom in my life and to reflect the hope I have in You. Help me today to take command of my day and shake the evil from it. Help me to take into captivity my thoughts, to shore in my desires, and to bridle my tongue so that I represent You well today.
Today I will take up my armor, and I will focus on my belt, or as the MEV puts I will have my waist girded with truth. I find the imagery of Paul to be quite lively. Most men wear belts to hold everything in place. Where I work, both men and women wear belts to hold their tools to be ready for emergencies. Truth should hold all of who we are together and be sure. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
[John 8:31&32] As I learn to be a disciple of Jesus and to follow in the way, I have learned truth. Knowing this truth helps me have hope and faith, which helps me live each day knowing that eternity awaits me. As Paul once said, with salvation within me, what can man do to me? Probably a lot, but not enough to separate me from God because I know the truth. My God is more than my life here on the earth. This truth holds me together when I am depressed, when I am hurt, when I feel attacked, when I don’t want to live anymore, when I miss Philip and all who have already left this earth, this truth sustains and holds my values and beliefs together which gives me a freedom that helps me not fear death, evil, or anything in this world. Truth carries my hope, trust, faith, understanding, and God’s word for me to have ready to use in emergencies.
And this is my prayer: let my love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Amen. Philippians 1:9-11