As I mull over the times I have had to put on a girdle to decrease my flamboyant figure, I laugh.
Why do I laugh? Maybe because I have never enjoyed wearing one. I normally buy a size too big because I hate any form of bondage. Clothing is not exempt. I also laugh because I normally deceive no one. With or without the girdle, I cannot hide the fact that the girdle does not seem to change my appearance.
When God told Jeremiah to hide the girdle he wore against his body, Jeremiah did not question God, but obeyed. Jeremiah hid the girdle in the cleft of the Euphrates River. The children of Israel had not obeyed God’s authority, and God used the girdle as an example of what would become of them.
Later, God instructed Jeremiah to recover the garment. It was soiled and filthy, just like the Israelites. Their sin and disobedience had brought bondage. Jeremiah, taking the girdle to a far-off place, represented the Israelites being taken into bondage by Babylon.
Our sin does not deceive anyone, just as my girdle does not really hide anything. The bondage from the girdle makes me uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the Israelites were in for a big surprise: seventy years in captivity.
Sometimes, a sin holds us captive. A girdle stored away in some drawer that needs to be thrown out because it is worn out and no longer fits. God’s Spirit is the one who tells us to get rid of the girdle, which does us no good. The girdle … the sin … is uncomfortable and serves no purpose for God.
Why not retire the girdle altogether and walk daily with God? Let God free you from the heavy weight of sin’s bondage.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Natalie Baker lives in a small town in North Carolina. God has blessed her with the ability to write, and she loves to write creatively. She loves people and wants to find a way to use her writing in ministry. She has been happily married for fifteen years and recently completed her master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling.