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Have you ever replayed a mistake over and over in your mind? Maybe you said something you wish you hadn’t, lost your temper, forgot something important, or simply felt like you weren’t doing enough. It’s amazing how quickly our hearts can move from “I made a mistake” to “I am a mistake.”
That’s probably why Paul talks about the Breastplate of Righteousness in Ephesians 6:14. When he wrote these words, Roman soldiers wore a breastplate that covered their chest and protected vital organs like their heart and lungs. If those areas were hit, the soldier couldn’t keep fighting for long. Paul wanted us to understand something important: our spiritual enemy loves to target our hearts too.
Those types of attacks on our hearts can often sound like shame, guilt and condemnation. Shame says, “Something is wrong with me.” Guilt that has gone too far says, “God must be disappointed in me.” Condemnation says, “I’ve messed up too much to be used by God.” Maybe we’ve all heard those voices at one time or another.
But here’s the good news. We don’t have to stay stuck with these thoughts because God provided a way out – through Jesus. You see, righteousness simply means being made right with God and because of Jesus, we are given God’s righteousness as a gift. Simply put, we are made right with God because of Jesus.
Not to be confused with self-righteousness, which is the idea that if we perform well enough, God will accept us. The Bible teaches that we don’t have to prove ourselves before God. We get to live from acceptance, not for acceptance.
My friend, this good news changes a lot. Instead of waking up each day trying to earn God’s love, we wake up already loved. Instead of measuring our worth by our performance, we can remember our identity, that we are God’s children and we belong to Him. And when shame tries to speak louder than truth, we can put on the Breastplate of Righteousness and remind ourselves of what Jesus has already done for us.
So this week, let’s pay attention to the thoughts that show up when we make a mistake.
When we notice thoughts like “I’m not good enough,” “I’ve failed again,” or “God must be disappointed in me,” pause and ask: “Is this coming from shame, or is this coming from God’s truth?”
Then we replace the lie with this simple reminder: “Because of Jesus, I am forgiven and loved.”
The more we practice replacing shame with truth, the more protected our hearts become.
Please share your thoughts or reflections in the comment section below. Your perspective might just encourage someone else on their journey.
Next week, we’ll continue our series with Putting on The Shoes of Peace. And if you missed my last post on Putting on The Belt of Truth, you can catch it here.
P.S. If you’d like gentle encouragement like this delivered straight to your inbox each week along with scripture, prayer and affirmation reminders, you’re welcome to sign up for my Monday Morning Reset newsletter. Thank you so much for hanging with me. Until next time!
Let’s stay rooted in Christ my friend,
Founder of Rooted Living
On a Mission to help 1 million women live rooted in Christ