Devotion 18 - Shield of Faith
Devotion 18 - Shield of Faith
Eph.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.”
In spiritual warfare against the
forces of darkness, Paul says that the shield of faith can practically cancel
all the capabilities of the enemy and render his weapons obsolete. The shield is the first line of defence.
Faith is what will protect us when missiles are coming at us. Faith is what
will help us advance even when we are under attack. If we are going to survive
the attacks that are coming at us, then we need faith. Hence, we need to put on
the breastplate and be equipped with the shield of faith daily to protect us
from the wiles, schemes, methods, and fiery darts of the evil one.
What is the Shield or Breastplate of
Faith?
Gen.15:1 - “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be
afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your
exceedingly great reward.”
Deut.33:29 – “Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of
your help and the
sword of your majesty…”
2 Sam.22:31- “As for God, His way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield
to all who trust in Him.”
2 Sam.22:3 – “The God of my strength, in whom I
will trust; my shield and
the horn of my salvation…”
Psa.91:4 – “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”
From the above scriptures, it is very clear that God Himself is our shield. We find this same idea throughout the entire Old Testament. Repeatedly, God in whom we place our trust, is described as our shield and fortress, the One who protects us from the enemy. So, when Paul exhorts us to take up the shield of faith or to put on the breastplate of faith, he is basically calling us to put our trust in God and His Word.
Rom.3:4 – “Let God be true but every man a liar…”
Living by faith is taking God at His Word and acting upon it even when it makes no sense to the rest of the world. And if God is our shield, we have nothing to fear from Satan, or wicked men, or future events.
Rom.8:31- “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The only way we get wounded is when we do not put on or
take up the breastplate of faith. We have let down our guard, we have dropped
the shield. Faith is
clinging to the truth amid fear and uncertainty. Taking up the shield of faith
means being convinced we can trust God completely despite all circumstances. We
trust what He says in His Word. We trust Him to love us, provide for us and
protect us. We trust Him to make all things work together for good to those who
love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Psa.28:7 – “The Lord is my
strength and my shield; my heart trusted
in Him, and I am helped…”
To take up the shield of faith is to mindfully fix our eyes on the
promises of God. We need to be so persuaded that God will make good on his
promises that we are willing to stand fast no matter what happens. Faith is
what gives us the unshakable resolve to follow Christ no matter what doubts,
anxieties, accusations, or temptations might come against us. Actively trusting
in the promises of God is what keeps us on course throughout our Christian
life, being fully persuaded that God will perform that which He has promised.
It is not just mental assent to truths. It is a heartfelt valuing
and treasuring of all that God promises to be for us in Jesus. It is laying
hold of what God says is true of us and living out of that reality - all His
promises and resources, along with who He says we are in Jesus.
The enemy wants us to keep
our eyes focused on our problems, so that he can successfully attack us with
his fiery darts of despair, distress, anxiety, fear, etc. He wants us to
constantly look to ourselves for the resources needed to get through today. And
he wants us to worry about the resources we are going to need tomorrow. No matter what kind of arrow the enemy shoots
at you, the way you deflect it is to place an active, deliberate faith in the
promises of God. The armour of God is the practical application of the gospel in
our daily lives. Thus, it really has to do with our obedience and our
appropriation of the gospel to our lives. Faith is basically our souled response
to the truth of the scripture. Mediate on the Scripture and learn to preach the
gospel to yourself. Give conscious awareness and prayerful attention to the
Word.
Fight a good Fight of Faith
1 Tim.6:12 - “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold
on eternal life…”
2 Tim.4:7 – “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Jn.16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will
have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Jesus has said that in this life we will have trouble. But he has
also promised that just as he overcame the world, so will we. While victory is
sure and it has already been won by Christ, we still must fight.
Satan is a lying murderer who would love to devour us. He wants to destroy us, and he will use any means possible to do so. Satan will try to inject falsehood and pervert the truth and get us to believe false doctrine. He will provoke contention, sow controversy and discord to create division and strife to destroy unity in the body of Christ. He will attempt to create doubts, tempting us to wallow in guilt, shame and condemnation. We are under attack all the time. In other words, the flaming darts of the evil one, are coming our way every single day. For that reason, we need to be equipped with the breastplate and shield of faith daily by leaning on God’s truth.
Read the Scripture daily and be mindful of God’s truth. Put on the breastplate and be equipped with the shield of faith by resting our whole weight on what we know to be true about God.
The
Bible is not going to be rewritten in heaven; it never needs to be rewritten
for it is truth, and truth never needs to change. But one thing will happen to
it. There are certain sections of it that will be extended because they are not
yet finished -- the book of Acts, for instance, and the eleventh chapter of
Hebrews. God is still calling men and women to live by faith, and to join this
parade in the unfinished chapter. Would you like you name to be added to this
parade of the heroes of faith, and be men and women who have a walk that is
truly pleasing to Him?
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