In the days of the Roman army men fought with swords, bow and arrows, and spears. The soldiers needed something to help protect and defend themselves against an attack. So they used a shield. They used their shields to block the blows of a sword or stop an arrow that had been shot at them. It was a vital piece of their armor.
In Paul’s imagery of the armor of the God in Ephesians 6 he tells us “in all circumstances take up the shield of FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (6:16).
Satan is shooting darts, arrows at us all the time. And those darts are on fire! He is trying to hit us with anything. He is firing everything he’s got. Temptation. Doubt. Fear. Paul tells us that we can protect ourselves by having faith in God. By trusting in God. Relying on the Lord. It is our faith in God that leads us to choose righteousness over sin. Hope over doubt. Joy over fear. With the shield of faith we can defend ourselves against all the attacks of Satan. His arrows will fall flat onto the ground. He will fail to hit us. We will win.
We need to be growing in our faith daily. It takes work and effort. Time and energy. Study and prayer. Our faith in God enables us to say no to sin. Without faith we will fail. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The stronger our faith the bigger our shield. How big is your shield? How strong is my faith?
Satan is going to be shooting at us. Are we ready for it? Are we prepared in our faith? Are we protecting ourselves? Take up the shield of faith! Trust in God. Hope in God. Take strength in God. Be strong and courageous. Grow in faith. Strengthen your faith. By doing so you will save your soul from sin and death.
A Cord of Blue 