I Stayed: Healing Past Hurt, Betrayal & InfidelitySample

Stand Firm (Part 1)

Let’s take a look at the full armor of God that we are to fight with. The first three parts of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:14-15 are the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and shoes, which are the readiness given by the gospel of peace. These are all items that you need to have at all times.

The belt of truth

The belt of truth is the word of truth, which is the gospel, the good news! The good news is that God loved the world so much that He gave his only son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in Him, will not perish, but will have eternal life. We must believe and embrace the truth of the good news with all of our hearts.

The breastplate of righteousness

Once this truth is encountered and embraced, through Christ we are counted righteous. To further explain, when you become a believer in the truth, you are to take off your former way of life and put on your new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. There should be a change in your behavior and this happens by remaining in Christ. It says in John 15, “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.” When you remain in Christ, you will begin to bear righteous fruit. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident in your life, but you must dwell in the shelter of the Most High.

Shoes: the readiness given by the gospel of peace

When I began my healing journey, I was speaking with a pastor about the attacks I was experiencing and the mental struggles I was enduring. She said, “Girl! Don’t let anyone steal your shoes! Put your shoes back on!” Think about it, if you’re going somewhere, you’re not completely ready until you put your shoes on. Readiness means to be prepared and because of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have full access to the peace of God. The enemy wants nothing more than to steal that peace or convince you to willingly give it away. God’s peace is always there. It’s like a constant stream that never leaves us. The truth of the matter is, we leave it. It’s time to run to His peace, and it’s time to fight. You fight by taking every thought captive. You achieve this by telling any disruptive thought that pops in your head the truth. Any thought that tries to take away your peace, you immediately tell it what the Word of God says. Speak life to the lie.

Jesus Christ died on the cross so that you could have full access. Run to His peace. Put your shoes back on and take every thought captive.

Read and meditate on today’s scriptures and spend time journaling your thoughts and feelings. What are some thoughts that have been stealing your peace that you need to take captive? Practice telling those lies the truth and tell those lies what God says. Conclude your thoughts with a life statement where you speak life to your situation. For example, "Today I’m feeling broken, but I will not always feel this way."

Keep fighting. You will grow, you will overcome, and you will heal past hurt, betrayal, and infidelity.