Still Water Moments The Armor of God: The Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6: 10-16 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
The shield of faith is a unique weapon of defense and offense. Verse 16 instructs us to “take up” the shield as it is also unique in that it requires being intentional about using it as the other pieces of armor are strapped to the body. Before we can dissect what using the shield of faith looks like, we need to remind ourselves of what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is remaining hopeful in God despite what a situation or trial looks like. As stated in a previous devotional, effective soldiers believe in the cause of their war, hence their willingness to risk their lives for it and we as Christians, or soldiers for Christ, believe in God’s truth. We believe what we read and hear in the word in Sunday service, bible studies, private devotional times but we exemplify it through our daily actions. Clearly, hearing and believing something are two different things. This is why there are carnal Christians and Godly ones.
Our faith is tested and grows through trials. Just as people strengthen their muscles by providing resistance using weights, our “spiritual faith muscles” are grown by the resistance of trials. When I was younger, I saw trials as something negative to be avoided. In time I learned that they of course cannot be avoided and in fact, God allows them. While initially that was a hard truth to swallow, in learning their purpose I’ve come to see them as an opportunity to grow closer to God and learn Him in a new way. I don’t mean that to say that it always feels good to go through them, but that my perspective of them has changed. I know now that trials are inevitable and if I always look at them as a form of punishment or something to get depressed about, I am bound to live a life with a negative outlook. However, by taking on a Romans 8:28 mindset that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him, my perspective remains faithful, hopeful, and optimistic.
Ephesians 6:16 makes it clear that Satan, “the evil one”, will attack but hope lies within this verse as it says the shield can extinguish all arrows. Not some, ALL! This truth is also shared in Isaiah 54:17a, “No weapon forged against you will prevail…” Flaming arrows are meant to set their targets ablaze. We all know that fire destroys. The enemy’s “flaming arrows” are meant to destroy us and John 10:10 confirms this. As stated before, we will face trials. However, we must decide if we will allow the trial to do God’s will, grow our faith, or the enemy’s will, destroy us. The enemy does this by trying to incite fear and a fleshly response to the trial. He is relentless in trying to plant negative thoughts for us to take a hold of because once we take hold of them, they show up in our actions because we have come to believe them. The way we fight these thoughts is to take up the shield of faith and speak God’s word which extinguishes the fire he is trying to set. Otherwise, the thought can cause a blaze that can grow into an inferno in your life which is more difficult to recover from. Think of quickly extinguishing a small flame that appears while cooking on the stove like automatically extinguishing a thought with scripture. Compare this to fires that have devastated communities and cities. While recovery can happen, the effort to do so is bigger in that it usually takes a lengthy amount of time, a large amount of money and the emotional toll is extensive.
While flaming arrows can be extinguished, we have a part to play in making that happen. As stated before, we have to act and “take up” the shield of faith. Speaking scriptures related to the situation you face is imperative in overcoming the enemy. Speaking them aloud takes it to the next level because you are hearing it which allows the word to get into your spirit and strengthen and encourage you in the process. It causes the devil to flee as you are activating James 4:7 as it states, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." By speaking God’s word, you are submitting to Him and resisting giving in to the devil’s scheme to cause you to think negatively. As stated before, the shield is both a defensive and offensive weapon. In ancient Roman warfare, soldiers would soak their leather covered wooden shields in water to prevent them from catching fire when hit by flaming arrows. The shield is defensive in that as you grow in knowing the word, it will become automatic to speak a relevant scripture when the enemy tries to plant a negative thought, thus extinguishing a flaming arrow.
The shield was offensively used as a weapon in that soldiers would use it to concuss or push enemies to the ground in order to then strike them with a sword. Our sword is the word of God and as we grow to be confident in God, His abilities, and scripture, we wield that sword with power and tenacity to attack the enemy. We speak the word with vigor and intention, expecting an outcome of victory and triumph. Have you ever noticed how a prayer warrior prays about a situation? The person typically prays scripture and speaks with a noticeable boldness. Their prayer is a verbal attack on the enemy empowered by the Holy Spirit. They pray with belief that God hears them and will answer. This is not a spiritual gift; it is an ability we are each able to achieve if we would cultivate it.
Groups of soldiers would also interlock their shields together to form an impenetrable wall against the weapons of the enemy. They would also use this wall to advance towards an enemy and attack. Surely this is the opposite of retreating in fear. Similarly, we as Christians advance when we come together via church, ministry groups, events, etc. to encourage one another. Faith thrives when you are in an environment that cultivates it. When you come together to praise and worship the Lord, His presence is invited in and where His presence is there is peace. When you hear and or share testimonies, you recognize you are not alone and the prayers and encouragement of others fosters hope and support. Clearly, our shields are necessary individually and collectively in order to live a life of victory in Christ!
Reflection: In what specific areas of your life do you need to be more intentional about “taking up” the shield of faith? Does this involve interlocking your shield with other soldiers more consistently?
