DAY 3 – Breastplate of Righteousness

Today, we’re looking at the ‘Breastplate of Righteousness.’ For the Romans, the breastplate was a highly-polished, segmented piece of armour that was made to move with the body. It was so important because it protected the vital organs, most significantly of all, the heart. It was strong enough to withstand the thrust of a sword or spear or javelin, therefore preserving the heart beneath. Another important feature is that it wrapped around the sides of the chest, protecting the back as well. Sometimes people say that there isn’t a piece of the Armour of God that covers the back because we were never designed to turn and retreat. However, it is significant that the breastplate of God’s righteousness covers us and protects our heart from all angles!

But what does ‘righteousness’ mean? The Bible says, “we are the righteousness of God in Christ.” We have been made righteous by the work of Jesus on the cross. This means that He passed the test, but we got the marks. We are qualified in Him. It doesn’t mean we always get it right, but we have been made ‘right with God’ through faith. This is who we ARE now. It’s our identity. We ARE righteous, so we can DO righteously. Because of Jesus, we have close, personal access to God Himself and it’s that closeness that protects our hearts from the attacks of the enemy!

This is such an important one for us to pay attention to this week and always. If the enemy was going to target any part of us, it would be our hearts. So, what are we allowing in there? Pride, hurt, offense, shame, disappointment etc… all these things affect the heart and aim to distance us from God. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to highlight anything that may be going on in our hearts that He wants to deal with today. But let’s also firmly ‘take up’ His righteousness—the closeness with Him that’s ours in Jesus, to protect and guard our hearts from attack!

This isn’t just so we’re protected. It’s so we thrive! God wants our hearts! In a position of closeness with Him, our hearts can dream with Him! We are open to receive His word in the soil of our heart and produce fruit in His Kingdom!