“ABOVE ALL, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench ALL the fiery darts of the wicked one.” – Ephesians 6:16
Joshua 1:9
In the book of Daniel in the Bible (Daniel 3:16-18) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow down to king Nebuchadnezzar as a God. He threw them into a fiery furnace and God protected them. But perhaps the most amazing thing about their story is their unwavering dedication to God in the face of an unknown outcome. Their faith was strong enough to accept giving their lives!
How can we have that faith?
How did the shield work in the Roman army?
The Roman shield was not the standard "medieval-esque" shield most picture in their minds upon hearing the word. It was instead a very large, slightly curved rectangular shield featuring at its center a large metal knob (called a boss).
These shields were an impressive line of defense. Because of its sheer size (some were three and a half feet tall and almost three feet wide), soldiers were afforded a great deal of protection from enemies. Because of its slight curve, it was able to deflect attacks without transferring the full force of the assault to the man holding the shield. Because of its boss, it was able to deflect even the more vicious blows and function in a limited offensive capacity as a means of knocking an opponent backwards.
What is Faith?
Read Hebrews 11:1 & 6, Romans 8:24-25
Faith is believing God is in control! He is working everything out for our good; that whatever happens is for the ultimate best of everyone involved, however little it seems to be that way.
Just as a shield deflects arrows, so does our faith deflect worry, hurt, anger, and all the fiery darts of doubt. Use your shield, crouch behind it and let the shield take the hits as God helps deflects those darts.
The word Faith is not a noun, its a verb. Its not something we have, its something we do. Faith is believing, its something we do by taking one tiny step forward at a time.
Matthew 14:28-31 It is very easy for us to say we have faith, but you have to continue to hold on to that faith. To not doubt that God is in control. The minute you let that Shield of Faith down, Satan will barrage you from his worst arsenal. When we allow doubt to creep in, as Peter did when distracted by the waves, we will start to sink. The rest of our armor will be battered, and so will we. But an actively raised Shield of Faith prevents this fatigue.
Hold strong to your faith and it will protect you. Matthew 4:10-11 When Christ was being tempted by Satan, His faith in the Word and commands of God repelled Satan for a time (Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ was tempted in all things, so this was certainly not the only encounter Christ had with the devil).
God tells us that faith cannot just be in our minds, it must produce actions—works of obedience and service (James 2:20).
What is our shield today? Today we need more that just our personal faith, we also need our church. The people in our church are provided by God, to strengthen our own shields and when we put our collective shields together it makes an impenetrable wall of faith for us all!
The church you belong with is where you want to serve, where you can build a church family. Where you can be nurtured and grow in the Word. And yes, sometimes be confronted and re-guided to the right path.
