The Belt of Truth

Grief is often accompanied by a myriad of temptations: anger, bitterness, fear, and despair, just to name a few. But God has provided us with everything we need to overcome these temptations, and to move forward in our sorrow with His strength. In this series, we will be studying the various pieces of our spiritual armor, and how each of these pieces uniquely equip us to cling to the hope we have been given in Christ.

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When Max died, I had so many feelings. Feelings of anger, disbelief, confusion, and doubt in my own body. I was sadder than I have ever been in all my life. Typically I’m not a big feeler; I don’t really experience high highs or low lows. Instead, I stay pretty even-keeled at all times. But my son’s death truly knocked me down and forced me to feel all the feelings, and if I’m being honest, I really didn’t like it. I didn’t want to feel those feelings. I had gone nearly 28 years without feeling a whole lot, and I liked it that way. It was easier that way, less confusing. But there I was, in a deep well of emotions I felt I had no control over. At times they were all-encompassing, blocking out anything and everything else. 

In the days, weeks, and months following Max’s death, I learned something important about feelings and emotions—they are real and valid, and they deserve to be felt. But at the end of the day, feelings are not equal to truth. For me, this was incredibly freeing. 

But it led me to the question: what is truth? If this overwhelming sense of despair, loss, loneliness, and brokenness is not truth, what is? And where do I find it?

In just a few chapters of the gospel of John, we see three specific things called out as truth:

Jesus
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
John 14:6

The Holy Spirit
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
John 16:13

God’s Word
“Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth.”
John 17:17

In Ephesians 6, the first component of the armor of God we’re told to put on is the Belt of Truth. In this passage, Paul is evoking the image of a soldier, ready for battle. In this analogy, the belt is not a mere fashion accessory, but a vital and central aspect of the battle garb. The belt held together the rest of the armor, provided a place to store the weapons used in battle, and added a defensive, protective flap. Without the belt, a soldier was woefully ill-prepared for battle.

Paul tells us to “stand firm, with belt of truth buckled around [our] waist” (Eph 6:14 NIV). Sister, each and every day, we are waging a battle against the evil one, against his lies and his schemes. And in light of the great loss of our children, Satan longs to gain an upper hand, to disable us, to catch us without our belt fastened. He wants us to question Jesus, who died that we might live, the very Spirit living inside us, and the powerful, unshakeable Word of God. 

When feelings of doubt, despair, anger, or fear threaten to pull you under, run to Jesus. Cry out to Him in your weakness. Lean on the Spirit who strengthens you from within. And dig deep into the Word of God. 

In order to write this piece, I felt compelled to pull out Anchored, the Hope Mommies Bible Study that came in my Hope Box, to see what truth the Lord was revealing to me in my deepest pain. 

Max was born and died on December 27, 2016. I worked through the first chapter of Anchored on January 9, 2017. I can promise you that I did not feel up to it a mere two weeks into my grief journey, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to pick up the book and begin. In chapter 3, the reader is encouraged to work through Lamentations 3. If I can encourage you to look anywhere in your Bible for the powerful commingling of complicated, deep, messy feelings and immutable, soul-strengthening truth, it is in Lamentations 3. 

Following the passage, author of Anchored and founder of Hope Mommies, Erin Cushman, writes, “Emotions in themselves are not authoritative… they cannot be our guide for our faith or decisions… the author of Lamentations understood this. That is why they called to mind what they knew to be true—they chose to meditate on what they could absolutely count on. They chose to trust in the dark what had been revealed to them in the light—that God’s steadfast love, mercy, and presence would uphold them.”

Sister, buckle up that belt of truth. It is the safest and strongest thing you can do as you navigate this loss. Whether you are two weeks, two years, or 20 years out from your loss, Satan’s lies are always waiting to leach their insidious way into your heart and mind. Protect yourself and fight him off with the truth of God’s Word. Do as David did in Psalm 61:1-3 when he writes, 

“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.”

Sam is a graphic designer and marketing professional in Frisco, Texas. She and her husband, Spencer, have been married since 2011, and have two children in heaven, Max & Baby Martin, and one in their arms, Lachlan. They enjoy serving in their church, building community, and restoring their 100 year-old home. Sam is in two book clubs and can always be found with a book in her purse and a warm beverage in her hand.

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