Have you ever left out for an event and wondered if you are dressed appropriately? Doubt sets in. “Honey” you ask “does my butt look big in this dress?” We, women, obsess about our clothing and our appearance. We fret over what we will say or did we say the right thing. We worry that we will be embarrassed and come away with blame, guilt or shame. We try to preempt every possible negative comment. We believe that we will accomplish these goals with the correctly chosen outfit. We are not far from the truth here.
Today we are going to talk about the most important part of your wardrobe. Your breast plate of Righteousness. What? You don’t own one. Sure, you do if you believe and have faith in Jesus Christ. You simply haven’t pulled it out of your hope chest and put it on. Here is a little bit on why, how, when and where to wear your breast plate of righteousness.
Why
Have you ever noticed that when anything goes mildly wrong you feel that it was somehow your fault? Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t but the more important question is how do you deal with blame, guilt and shame? Do you give them safe harbor in your heart? Do you internalize these feelings and become paralyzed by them? Does fear of blame, guilt or shame keep you from seeking your dreams or fulfilling your calling? Does it keep you isolated from friends, family or humanity in general? If you answered yes to any of these questions then this is the day you have been waiting for!
I’m sure if you are a follower of Jesus Christ you have read or heard about the full armor of God. Usually, it is portrayed as a rough looking man in a knight suit. We women begin to glaze over because it doesn’t seem to apply to us. However, it does apply to us in a huge way! I have heard countless sermons and read articles about the full armor of God searching to understanding it but in my morning meditation it suddenly all became very clear to me how and why it is true and why it works.
All the explanations I have experienced about the full armor of God was given from a male Pastor or writer about a male soldier preached to men in the congregation. We women are there to soak up what we can if we can.
Here is an explanation from this woman’s perspective (me) about women for women. Men can soak up what they can. Chances are there will be too many words here for the men and they will pass😊. But for us women we like all of our words and I will do my best not to spare any necessary words in the explanation of why, how and where to wear and how to use the full armor of God for her.
How It Works
Let’s start with my favorite and most feminine part of our armor, the breast plate of righteousness. Only on January 30, 2021 congress passed a bill making it possible for women in the American armed forced to get body armor made for women. Women have been wearing bullet proof vests designed for men all this time. Well, maybe someone finally noticed that women have a different chest landscape than men. Yes, for it to be 100% effective it needs to be customized and fit properly to each person’s body shape.
So, what does a breast plate/body armor do? It stops an attacking bullet or arrow from penetrating a vital organ such as a heart or lung. When the arrow hits the breast plate/body armor it just slides down or bounces off leaving the breast area, heart, lungs and other vital organs unharmed.
Unless we are police officers or in the military, we do not fight physical battles or at least we hope we won’t. We do, however, engage in mental and psychological battles with other all day. We also war against spiritual powers that we may read as mental or psychological.
So, how does a breast plate of righteousness work?
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Romans 3:22
He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:14
So, Jesus died taking on our sins and through our belief and faith in Him we receive his righteousness. We cannot be righteous on our own no matter how hard we try. I’m not saying run out and commit a bunch of sins on purpose. Your righteousness from Jesus will prevent you from wanting to do just that. You are forgiven for past present and future anything. Is that amazing or what.
A few years ago, we were flying back from Alaska. As we passed by the cockpit, I noticed that the doors were open which never happens. I said aloud, “Wow look you can see the cockpit and all the buttons!” I was so excited. The flight attendant said “Can you please stand over here a moment?” He left me and my husband in the “custody” of another flight attendant who then paid attention only to us while the others entering the plane continued to pass by us. I looked at my husband, David, and whispered, “Are we in trouble?” He shrugged and gave me a reassuring smile. A few minutes later the first flight attendant returned and ask for us to wait a moment because the captain wanted to see us.
A few minutes later a silver haired very tall and distinguished looking man came out of the cockpit to greet us. He said, “I’m the Captain and I understand that you are interested in the cockpit.” I smiled and said, “yes” “He said come on in.” He took his hat off his head and put it on my head and bid that I sit in his captain’s chair. My husband videotaped the whole experience. It was incredible to see all the buttons and that he knows exactly what they all do to fly that huge plane. But, for a little less than 5 minutes I was the captain of the plane. I sat in his chair, I wore his hat but I did not have to go to flying school and do all the work to know how to take off, fly and land the plane or all the safety procedures for the passengers. I simply was the captain because he shared his hat and his chair with me.
This is what Jesus did for us on a grand scale. We are permanently in right standing with God because Jesus shares his righteousness with us by giving us each a custom-made breast plate of righteousness. He lived a perfectly righteous life. He fought the battle with death and prevailed. He made arrangements with God to purchase our sins for us. He knows how to fly perfectly and die and live again. Then he put his own hard earned and won righteousness on me and you. He shares his perfection and his righteousness with us. He knows we don’t know how to fly right or die to live again but he put the breast plate of righteousness on us. Unlike Captain Kim that lasted for only 5 minutes. We get to fly with Jesus forever wearing His breastplate of righteousness and serve in his kingdom as His bride.
When
Every time we are attacked by those fiery darts caused by thoughts of blame, guilt, shame. When that blame, guilt or shame arrow flies at you it will hit your breast plate of righteousness that Jesus designed especially for your body, soul, and situation. Don’t worry if the blame comes to stab you in the back your breast plate of righteousness goes all the way around your torso protesting your vital organs especially your heart. It cannot be penetrated. Nothing is stronger than the righteousness and perfection of Jesus. Just imagine that blame or guilt or shame is like an egg thrown at a Teflon wall it will burst and slide down not leaving a trace of egg yolk or remnants of shell.
Imagine walking through life so that if anyone throws guilt or blame or shame on you it explodes and slides off to leave no trace. You are free. Truly free to do what God has set you here to do unencumbered by negative attacks from the dark side. No more defensiveness. No more apologizing. Just moving forward with decisive positive action.
This is your special female breast plate of righteousness because it accommodates your special unique shame or guilt and is particularly effective against troublesome female plagues that do not seem to effect men as much such as guilt, blame, and shame.
Next time someone throws one of these daggers in your direction remember you are protected and covered. No need to become defensive. Remember they cannot hurt you. They will hit your breastplate of righteousness made by Jesus and slide right off.
Many of the most harmful blame, shame or guilt bullets that come barreling at us are shot from ourselves. Yes, we forget that we are forgiven and start the guilt trip all over again and again like a broken record. This causes stress related illness and can lead to serious depression. But next time you try to shoot yourself watch where the bullet lands. It will hit your breast plate of righteousness and be repelled off instantly. You cannot even shoot yourself with blame, shame or guilt. Once you have repented and have faith in Jesus Christ you are issued your specially fitted breast plate of righteousness. Then no amount of shame, blame or guilt can penetrate your heart to kill, steal or destroy you.
Where
We all know how important it is to dress appropriately. We don’t wear our swim suit to the doctor’s office or an evening gown to the lake. So where do we wear our breast plate of righteousness? This is the one article that goes with everything even more than that perfect pair of diamond earrings. Wear your breast plate of righteousness everywhere. Where it to bed at night, to the gym, to work, out to dinner, having conversations with friends, while you pay your taxes and every other time. But remember you are wearing it so that those bullets and arrows can’t get through. Now you are ready to experience all the life you can with the freedom your breast plate of righteousness, provides you.
How to wear it
Humbly. We have visited churches all over the country of all denominations. We found many humble teachers and leaders. On the rare occasion we have encountered a preacher or teacher that believed that they were somehow superior to those in the outside world. That their brand of “Christianity” somehow gave them the right to judge other people. This is not what the breast plate of righteousness is about. Your breast plate of righteousness works best when worn humbly.
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me
2 Corinthians 12:9
For we who worship by the Spirit of God[b] are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
Philippians 3:3
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Romans 6:1-4
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
John 15:16-17
In the Christian world many misunderstand and are mislead when it comes to being humble and humility. When I was a very new freshman at college a friend from home who was an upper class men invited me out for ice cream. While eating our ice cream he was speaking about humility. I’m sure he was saying some profound and wonderful things all of which were over my head. He was from a well know and wealthy family while I was from a working class rural area. For many years I cringed as the memory of that conversation. He paused and asked me what I thought about it. “I said I wasn’t into it.” I thought he was talking about humiliation the whole time. I had no idea the difference between humility and humiliation. All I remember about the rest of the conversation was that he suddenly turned cold and I didn’t know what I had said. In a conversation about humility I felt humiliated.
I tell this story because it is so important to know the difference. As women we are taught to please our parents, husbands, and bosses. Being humble does not mean that we put ourselves down or debase ourselves to make ourselves lower. It simply means that we put the needs of other before our own. If misunderstood search for humility can lead to low self esteem. To prevent this always remember that Jesus was humble yet understood His self worth. As you should as well. Wear your breast plate of righteousness humbly understanding how precious and important you are that Jesus suffered to give it to you.
When people distort humility, they are usually doing it via humiliation, which many people think means the same thing. Humility is directed at voluntarily embracing God and others before our own interests. It is not about shame or comparison with others. By contrast, humiliation is all about shame and comparison and self and has nothing voluntary about it.
https://deussolus9.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/what-is-the-difference-between-humility-and-humiliation/
I have never heard the subject of the breast plate of righteousness preached or taught in church. Often leaders shy away from letting you know that you are free and righteous because they want the control that comes with telling you when you have sinned and when you are forgiven. The truth is that this is between you and God. No human has the power to forgive or judge your eternal soul, only Jesus has this right and power. Wearing your Breast Plate of Righteousness is a privilege that we have not earned and cannot be given by another human. If you are reading this right now and you believe that Jesus died for your sins then the Bible says that your name is written in the book of life. Jesus chose you before the world was. So, put on your breast plate of righteousness and enjoy each day with freedom and peace and joy.
