Ephesians 6:16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
When we think of a shield we think of protection, the word shield by definition means to protect or block an attack.
Who is the attacker? Satan, the wicked.
How does he attack? With fiery darts, after they wound they continue to burn, the wound is only the beginning.
What does the shield of faith do? It quenches them, or puts them out.
I don't know what the shield looks like or even the material it is made of, but from the verse I think we can gain a sense of the size of the shield because the word shield is sometimes used as, "door". If it is the size of a door then it would cover the entire body. The shield of faith could be used to block Satan's attacks on the mind, heart, eyes, and feet all at the same time.
He will attack the mind with questions, "Did God really say that?" "If God loves you, why are you suffering?" "You were better off before you were saved, look how good those people who don't go to church are doing while you are in pain." He attacks the heart with fear and doubt, "You are not going to make it." "Nobody cares about you." "Something bad is going to happen to your children." He will even launch attacks on our eyes, hands, and feet by enticing us to sin.
How do we fight off these attacks? The shield of faith!
Satan is a liar! Jesus said, Satan was the father of lies, he lied to Eve in the garden, to Jesus when he was tried in the wilderness, and he will lie to me and you.
Those fiery darts will be hurled questioning our faith, and he has no limits on who he attacks: young, old, male, female, weak, strong, sick, healthy.. it doesn't matter to him. He shows no mercy. He has come to steal, kill, and destroy. But the verse reminds us, we don't have to be defeated, we are not alone, that through Jesus we can have victory.
My faith does not rely on a diagnosis, or a result, or what happened to someone else, but in a risen living God.
When Satan shoots a fiery dart, stand behind your shield and say, "I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day!"
We are not helpless; the Lord Jesus is our shield and buckler, and we can stand behind him, cling to an old rugged cross, remember the day he saved us, and as we are reminding ourselves of our future, remind the devil of his.
Our greatest defense is the shield of faith.
Be vigilant and sober because our adversary the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Paul said that he had to cast down every imagination and bring every thought into subjection. You have power over your mind, not events, realize this and you can have victory.
The just shall live by faith, and without faith it is impossible to please him.
To sum it all up, when I say that I have faith, I am saying that I trust the Lord, that He makes no mistakes, He loves me with a perfect love, and that He has such a wonderful plan for my life that even when bad things happen He will turn it around on Satan and bring good out of it.
Resist the devil and he will flee.
Pick your shield up and use it today.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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