Faith: all the time & for all the flames
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
Different body parts and diverse battles require specific armor. A helmet isn’t ideal to protect the chest, and shin guards can only do so much for the head. Swords can’t swat away bullets. But there’s a piece of armor designed to be a one-size-covers-all item as the first line of defense against an attack.
In the spiritual battle, it’s the full-body shield of faith. Darts descend on us only to pelt against our shield of faith. The enemy approaches from any angle only to be thwarted by our shield of faith. Fiery arrows whiz straight toward us, only to be absorbed, repelled, deflected, and extinguished by the shield of faith.
But because of the shield’s multi-purpose protection at all times and for all the flames, it’s our faith that gets burned and bears some of the deepest scars from battle. During a cease-fire, you may have realized that your faith feels worn out. In that stillness, have you turned your shield around to examine its condition?
Imagine looking at the surface area of this large shield as if it’s comprised of faith categories: at one corner might be your beliefs about God’s character; at another corner, all that you believe about God’s power; maybe the middle portion is what you believe about God’s Word; still other parts of the shield might be your faith regarding God’s people and God’s plan. Often, the arrows pierce again and again at just one section of our beliefs to weaken that specific area. On what part of your shield have the arrows clustered together?
Maybe your faith about God’s character has been splintered. Perhaps your belief about His power is falling apart; maybe your trust in His Word is coming undone. It could be that relationships with God’s people are being chipped away, little by little. God’s plan for you might feel sub-par. Left without reinforcement, even the slightest hole in our shield can lead to our take-down.
To our relief, though, God is in the shield restoration business. Materials we need for repairs are never on back-order. He’s not short on help, at a loss for all the damage done, or disgusted when we slide our shield across the counter to Him. The question is whether we’ll pick up the tools He offers us to rebuild with Him. His Word functions like a toolbox full of truth to reinforce our faith. Recognizing where our faith has been weakened and applying the reinforcement of specific truth is how the battle actually becomes the catalyst for strengthening our shield of faith instead of destroying it.
What specific truth needs to be applied to an area of your faith as reinforcement for it?
