The Core: Armor of God Study

If you are looking for a great bible study to do, I would strongly encourage you to look into the Armor of God Study by Priscilla Shirer. It is only the beginning of week 2 and WOW. The particular study has MY name, my number, my principles, my sayings....ALL over it. Why you ask?

I am a physical therapist. No not the standard definition you find if you googled it. I am a manual therapist. A functional manual therapist with training through IPA so this has my particular name in a very, very specific way. I was blessed enough to complete fellowship training in Steamboat last year with this incredible group of therapist. The core is only a part of the discussion, but one near and dear to my heart. Her week 2 Day 1 title is STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE.

Yes. You have my FULL and undivided attention. I love her spin on the core but I have to say. I have so much more to add after reading the jumping off point!!  First let's review the verses in Ephesians again before we dive into a full on explanation of your physical and spiritual CORE.

Ephesians 6:10-14 (emphasis is mine)
10 Finally, BE STRONG in the Lord and in the STRENGTH of His might.

11 Put on the FULL armor of God, so that you will be able to STAND FIRM against the schemes of the devil

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places

13 Therefore, TAKE UP the full armor of God, so that you will be able to RESIST in the evil day, and having done everything, TO STAND FIRM

14 STAND FIRM therefore, having girded your loins with TRUTH, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness



Here what you have to understand about the core. What do you think of when you hear "core"? Just as a word--- the root, the center, what are you made of. Yep. Now think core strength. I have news for you. If you said abdominals are your core you are ~1/4 right if we keep it simple. The core is made of the diaphragm (roof), abdominals- the deepest being the transverse abdominus) wrapping and blending around to the multifidi (segmental spinal stabilizers) that insert along the spine (the cylinder or sidewalls), and the pelvic floor (as well, the floor). This group should fire together to make you stable, so that you can have balance through the vertebral column (spine), in order to be strong first through your skeletal frame.  ALIGN. BE STRONG. STAND FIRM.

What else do you think of when you think of standing firm? How much firmer would you stand first knowing and remembering  WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST?  First we must align ourselves, our spine, and at the root- our heart with HIM. I love that verses 10-13 are really the PEP TALK. This is our reminder that we are strong in the Lord. His strength, His might. NOT ours. But as I read those verses it also reminds me WHOSE I AM and WHO is at my core. And that makes me take a taller, stronger posture. It makes me align upright.  When told to be strong and stand firm, the last posture I take is slumped, forward shoulders in a crumpled position.  (I would continue to crumple if ANYTHING came at me if I sit or stand that way!) It reminds me to find my center of myself, God who is at my core and yes through my PHYSICAL posture where I know my stance, my spine, my posture is in the best alignment possible that I can find on my own to be strong.

This is interesting. So as a therapist I correct and help people find a better posture within their own body to decrease stresses, pain, and to find their core strength again. Watching someone correct their posture and feeling me correct my own, I still know that I can correct something, if only I have another set of eyes. If a mirror or reflection for me to see what still looks off or what could still be lined up straighter.) Someone to tell me where the weaknesses still lie in my stance and spine and the subtle (or large) changes that I can make within my frame to strengthen and stand more firm and not collapse.  Because here's why. The last thing anyone wants to do is not know an area of weakness if someone else (or spiritually if the Lord and other believers) could have pointed it out. We would DO something about it hopefully. The test comes when something comes at you and bumps your confidence or your physical frame. The last thing I want to do is to BUCKLE where I don't know I'm weak. I want to align. I want to withstand the bumps.

I use a test called the Vertical Compression test to first check physical vertebral or body/frame alignment. By pressing gently, progressively down through the shoulder girdles from above, I can start to tell where someone is weak and where they may buckle under stresses and daily loads. It also teaches us that with good alignment our frame and posture is able to withstand some pressure because we are ready to resist some of the forces. Now slump and do the same test when you are not ready and you will crumple under the pressure and see how weak you are (potential in multiple places) when you are not ready and not standing firm.  Stand up straight again.

Picture yourself in a crowd walking against the flow of people. What happens when we start to move forward against the flow if we are floppy vs standing strong, pressing into the flow giving purpose to our steps like we intend to hold our ground and move forward. If we start taking bumps and hits from all directions we eventually get tired of being pushed around and something in our core decides to work a little harder so we can hold our position, our ground and continue pressing in. You are feeling the core engage where muscles starting syncing and working together to keep you strong from the inside out. This is much like the Lumbar Protective Mechanism I use to test core response from front to back, back to front, and multiple diagonals. (Sound familiar went you feel like things are coming at you from all directions?) What is the initial response? Does your core come on? Do you have the muscles that are responsive if you get bumped or do they protect you at all? Are the delayed and Do they take a second to figure out...I'm being pushed, I should start working if I want to remain stable and hold my ground. Or Do they come on quick and last a total of 2 seconds before the inevitable collapse happens where the spine buckles or rotates or shears under the resistance or load. Do you get my picture???    :)

So for me as I read the study and she stressed the core so much, I have to say, yep that sounds right. But wait! First we are told to first BE STRONG and in the STRENGTH of the Lord. It's your pep talk to Stand UP straight and prepare yourself. Be ready. Know your CORE. Have a core. Let the things of God be your center and core. But within your physical frame and posture, you feel yourself STAND FIRM. Things start to align. You start to take a stance that has no intention of losing your footing and leave you staggering to the sides. You center yourself. Your core can work for you here BEST. When you Take the POSTURE that is going to WORK. It makes you stronger because you are LINED UP FIRST. You are ready for the bumps and shoves and pushes that will challenge you but it makes for a stronger CORE in the long run. It builds stability, awareness, endurance, balance, and RESISTANCE to being tossed around. And we don't just want to be strong where we are strong. We want to be strong where we are weak too. HOLD YOUR FRAME. BE STRONG. STAND FIRM.

Now that you're ready. Put on your armor. You have found your core. And that, I point out, is a posture and frame that found the core, feels it working and growing stronger and WILL NOT buckle under the weight of your ARMOR you are about to put on. The first piece this week was the belt of truth. Gird your loins. A belt of Roman solider day fashion was no joke. It was huge. And heavy. It is the perfect weighted resistance to strengthen the core more. To further add stability to the core. But I have to point out here one vital detail that is worth stressing. Prayer activates the armor. But if you lose your footing and your frame starts to crumple under the weight of the armor.......do you get my drift? Your core in God's truth, God's word must remain strong. HOLD YOUR FRAME. STAND FIRM. Be ready for the weight and do not crumple. Do not fear. Stand firm. Every single piece of armor has a purpose, but never, never, never forget WHOSE you are and WHO activates the armor to give it power. HOLD your ground. HOLD your posture. Find your CORE. Make it stronger. Build your strength, stability, endurance, balance through resistance. And resistance usually comes with pressing in or holding a weight or being resisted. Hmmm.. The heavy belt of truth! Root yourself in His word so that you know the TRUTH and that strengthens you further.

My last point. And it is a good one. Anyone knows that has done resistance training that there comes a time to bump up the reps, add more weight, or hold it longer.  We will talk in planks. Plank holds, table tops. You feel it already and I only typed the word! Hold it 5 and your a champ, hold it 10- oh please, hold it 20, no 30 and oh my goodness I'm shaking through this. No I won't give up. I'm going to press in and hold it through. And now I just might make that minute, 2! Yep, got it. SHAKE. In whatever forms that comes in. Shake because you're scared. Shake because it's just flat hard to hold your pooped out posture and frame and that core needs some work. Shake because that simply what it is going to take. To build endurance. To strengthen through and through. To find your stability needs a little beefing up. You need to find the true depth of core and develop a stronger layer of muscle. Because you had no idea that even after all that strengthening you were still weak in that ONE spot, at that ONE level OR that you had developed such bad habits that you had no idea you were doing that were masking real strength!! SHAKE AWAY. Build it up. Because the beauty of shaking is that there is one glorious moment. You are recruiting and turning on MORE MUSCLE!! Where you feel the burn, you feel the tremble but you keep holding if you can. Stick to the plan. Come back to it daily. Shake, shake, shake away. And suddenly you feel something in your core click together. Like it has all just become ONE AGAIN and it is working together and it suddenly just got a little bit easier. You're stronger now. You move as one connected unit!
Don't quit. Bump it up. Shake, keep working. God is not done with you yet. I'll be right there with you, strengthening and pressing in and pressing on. Shaking my way to develop more muscle, better muscle, where I'm weak...to be strong before I put that armor on. He's got something REALLY REALLY good for us. But let's tell the Truth and get back to the core of Him so we can really get somewhere. Flex those spiritual muscles this week. Somebody else is shaking in his boots. Make Him run. He does not have what it takes. He has already lost the battle because the Victory has already been claimed.
WOO-HOO! Be strong. Stand firm sister. I want some new muscles to show of God's Strength. This is going to be so worth it!

#ArmorOfGodStudy