Use Your Faith As A Shield

Use Your Faith As A Shield

Ephesians 6:16

above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

   Paul, in verses 14-15, described three aspects of spiritual armor to have at all times.  He described truth, which he likened to a belt, righteousness which is likened to wearing a breastplate, and the preparation of preaching the Gospel which he likened to wearing sturdy footwear.  Before we can use the next three pieces of armor, we need to be rooted in truth, we need to be clothed in God’s righteousness, and be prepared to share the Gospel with a lost world.

   At this point, after writing about the three pieces of armor to have with us, Paul says, "Above all."  He then tells us about three more pieces of this spiritual armor that he says we should take up, implying we should arm ourselves with them.  I don’t believe he says “above all” to lead us to believe that these three items are more important to us, but that we should not forget to arm ourselves when we prepare for battle. 

   Now, in verse 16, he writes, “taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  Your faith is compared to a shield.  People think that a shield is purely a defensive item of armor.  And for the most part, that’s true.  Here Paul says to use it to protect yourself from the fiery darts of the wicked one.  The enemy tries to weaken us through tactics such as fear and unbelief.  The shield used by the Roman Legionaries was not the small round one often pictured in movies but a large, oblong shield that could protect the whole body.  In ancient warfare, arrows were often used at the beginning of a battle in the hope of catching an enemy soldier unprepared.  Arrows would be shot in great numbers and some would be on fire.  They would cover the enemy like a deadly cloud and plunge down upon them.  The idea was not only to injure the enemy, but to shoot at him at all sides with a massive number of arrows, and thus confuse and panic the enemy.

   Think of all the harmful and destructive things that fly through your mind at times, as though they were a cloud of arrows shot by an enemy to strike you down, or at the very least cause you to become confused and to panic.  I urge you to have your faith ready to use when you have:  Angry or bitter thoughts or thoughts of vengeance, desperate thoughts or depression, proud, vain, or selfish thoughts, irrational fears, jealous feelings, lust, or any other destructive thoughts.

   The wicked one, the evil forces in the world, will hurl these “firey darts” at you whenever an opportunity arises.  These thoughts will hit our minds as if they were flaming arrows shot by an enemy to confuse us or cause us to panic.  Faith quenches them and stops the attack.  

   Stop trying to trust God and just trust Him.  God honors you when you come to Him in humility and depend on Him in faith.  The flaming arrows will be caught before they can injure and confuse you.  Don’t be fearful of the enemy and his attacks, be faithful to God and stand in His strength and you will come through your battles safely.

Stephen Cram                           April 8, 2012                          Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8