By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church
Let me take you back to the year 1988—my early days as a Christian, stationed in Germany with the United States Air Force. I was a brand-new convert, ready to charge hell with a squirt gun.
Freshly saved and fully fired up, I figured the best way to show my faith was with the biggest King James Bible I could find. In Germany. That was no easy task. But I found a Christian bookstore, marched in, and said something like, “Give me the real deal.”
What they handed me was less a Bible and more a leather-bound briefcase of holy intimidation. It had gold letters on the front, multiple bookmarks, and enough weight to count as carry-on luggage. I was thrilled. I thought, The bigger the Bible, the greater the faith. Here I come, Mr. Devil!
To match my newfound spiritual swagger, I went out and bought a crisp new suit, a fancy tie, a shirt starched, and dress shoes polished to a military-grade shine. Every Sunday, I showed up looking like I just stepped off the cover of Pentecostal GQ. I had the walk, the lingo, the spiritual nod, and the “bless you, brother” down to a ‘T.’ Think John Travolta the morning after Saturday Night Fever, but with a Bible and a verse instead of a disco ball.
But then Monday rolled around… and the costume came off.
The Bible stayed on the nightstand. The tie came off. And my words? They no longer matched my walk. Underneath the show, I was still struggling—confused, fearful, inconsistent, and pretending I wasn’t in trouble at all.
In other words, I was a Ding Dong.
You know the snack cake. Chocolate on the outside, sweet on the surface, but hollow in what really matters. That was me. I looked the part, but I hadn’t yet grasped the heart of what it meant to live in truth. Because here’s the thing: Objective truth doesn’t care how you dress it up. It doesn’t depend on opinion, emotion, or how shiny your Bible is. It just is. It’s not something we invent—it’s something we uncover, reveal—if you will, embrace, and live by.
When you wear the Belt of Truth, you’re not suiting up in religion or performance. You’re aligning your life with reality—God’s reality.
Enter Micaiah, the overlooked but legendary prophet in 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 18.
King Ahab is planning to go to war. Four hundred prophets line up to tell him what he wants to hear: “You’ll win! God’s got your back!” But Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, isn’t buying it. “Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD around here?”
Ahab rolls his eyes and says, “Yeah… Micaiah. But I hate him. He never says anything good about me.” In other words, he wasn’t a “yes” man.
Why? Because Micaiah tells the truth—even when it’s unpopular.
When he’s brought before the kings, he first, like we see God doing in Proverbs, laughs and mocks the other prophets, then drops the divine bomb:
“I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd…” (2 Chronicles 18:16)
Translation? “You’re going to lose. And you’re going to die.”
Ahab throws him in prison. But guess what? Micaiah was right. The truth didn’t change because it was rejected—it proved itself in the end.
Micaiah was a Twinkie in a room full of Ding Dongs. No coating. No compromise. Just the golden truth, unwrapped and unapologetic.
Here’s the deeper revelation: when we wear the Belt of Truth, we don’t just stand for facts—we step into who we were meant to be.
Christianity isn’t about becoming more religious—it’s about becoming more human.
God didn’t design you to be coated in Christian performance. He created you to be real. To be known. To be transformed by truth. Religion can make you look spiritual, but only truth can make you whole and real.
This week, I challenge you to buckle up and ask yourself:
- Am I living in reality, or just in performance?
- Do I love truth enough to stand alone for it, like Micaiah?
- Am I more concerned with how I look or who I truly am?
Because the Belt of Truth isn’t a spiritual accessory—it’s essential gear for anyone who wants to walk in wisdom, identity, and freedom.
You don’t need a leather-bound Bible the size of a laptop or a Sunday suit to prove your faith.
What you need is courage—to live truthfully even when it’s uncomfortable. What you need is humility—to say, “I’ve been a Ding Dong, but God is making me new.”
So buckle up. Be the Twinkie. Live uncoated. And let the Belt of Truth hold you together with who you really are: an image-bearer of God, created to be fully human, fully alive, and deeply loved.
Stay salty. Shine bright. Suit up.
Pastor Drake
To enjoy more of Drake’s content and conversations, CLICK HERE to connect with his podcast, “Just Sayin’ with Pastor Drake.”
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.