The Shield of Faith
"in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." Ephesians 6:16
The reality of war in the physical world is constantly in the headlines. However, the least recognized and understood is the spiritual warfare that affects individual lives. This attack is from the powerful enemy of our soul, who is determined to destroy us (John 10:10). All Christians experience times of spiritual attack in their lives. God permits these testing times to allow us to take up the shield of faith against the enemy.
IBCC exists to help people "…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins…" Acts 26:18. We help people use the shield of faith as they identify Satan's lies and deceptions – the flaming missiles hurled at them, such as the lie that they are not worthy of God's love or the deception that their past sins define them.
The Apostle Paul tells us that part of putting on the whole armor of God is taking up the shield of faith. We must pick up the shield of faith and hold it in place to defend ourselves in battle. The Roman shield Paul refers to was four feet long and two and a half feet wide. It protected the whole body. The other pieces of armor left some parts of the body vulnerable, and thus, the shield was required to stop lethal penetrations. When the spiritual battle becomes heated with arrows flying, the Christian takes up the shield of faith. The Roman shield was made with linen and leather hide and dipped in water. When the fiery darts hit it, they were extinguished. After one battle, a Roman soldier counted over 200 darts sticking into his shield!
What are the fiery darts that come from Satan and his demons? They are his seducing lies and temptations. Satan fires his missiles of impurity, selfishness, doubt, fear, disappointment, lust, greed, vanity, covetousness, hopelessness, and so forth.
During the battle, the believer is bombarded with Satan's fiery darts. Our first line of defense is the shield of faith. "Without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6. The shield of faith is not just knowing God's truth in our heads but believing in our hearts that what God has said is true, so much so that we can act against the enemy. To use the shield of faith when a deceptive thought, accusation, or temptation comes, we meet it head-on with what we know to be true about God, His Word, and who we are in Christ!
We can enlarge and strengthen our shield of faith by spending time in the Word of God. In my personal life and in the lives of those I counsel, I find that without consistent time spent with God and His Word, we can be left defenseless. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that your brotherhood is experiencing the same kinds of suffering worldwide." I Peter 5:8-9.
Do you genuinely believe in your heart that what God says is true? As you pick up the shield of faith, you can stop the flaming arrows of the evil one. You will be enabled to stand firm in the spiritual battles of life!