The God Who Girds Me

I was awake again this morning before 5:00.  My body wasn’t the only thing tossing and turning.  So was my mind, filled with concerns of decisions looming large.

Confidence during the daylight hours usually becomes impossibilities in the dark.

I finally just got out of bed.  For the past few days, after my regular morning Bible study, I have been randomly opening my Bible and looking down to see what God has for me.  I love doing this.  God’s Word is truly not only sharp and powerful but also very full of comfort and peace.

My eyes landed on Isaiah 45: 5-6. 

“I am the Lord and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.  I WILL GIRD YOU…”

Gird is an interesting word.  I looked up the Hebrew word, and it means to belt; to encompass.

But what does God gird me with?

Psalm 18: 32 says that God will gird me with strength.

Ephesians 6:10 says to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  And then Paul goes on to describe how we are to put on the armor of God.  The first piece of the armor?

The belt of truth.  The old English says, “Having GIRDED your loins with truth.”

OK, so what does all this word study mean to me today?

Simply put, it means that instead of allowing my mind to wander off into worry as I focus on my circumstances, I am to instead intentionally grab the belt of God’s truth and wrap it around my waist. 

The phrase, “Don’t be caught with your pants down,” comes to mind.

I think God understands humor, but really, isn’t this the truth?

God says there’s no reason to be unprepared for the stresses of this life. 

I need to buckle my belt when I toss and turn in the dark and allow worries to fill my mind. 

I need to tighten my belt when I face each new day with its challenges and fears.

It’s the belt of truth. And the truth is, as Isaiah said in 45:6 – “…from the rising to the setting of the sun there is no one besides Me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other.”

It’s the belt of strength…God’s strength.

God promises to gird me…to encompass me with His truth and His sweet presence in my life. 

But also to gird me with strength to fight Satan’s attacks of doubt and worry.

There is no one besides Him to fill me with peace.

No one besides Him to hold me in His arms and to speak to me assuring promises from His precious word.   

No one besides Him to give me strength and resolve to face today, and especially tomorrow, girded up and ready to go forward.