Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. (Ephesians 6:16 the Voice)
There are two divisions to the armor that God provides us: the first includes the first three pieces which are the weapons that we were granted when we were first made alive to God, at our conversion. Even though we have these, we must be mindful of them and what they represent. And, each of them represent the fact that Christ is our answer and not we ourselves.
The second division includes those weapons which are to be put on as needed in the battle: "taking up the shield of faith;" "putting on the helmet of salvation," "and taking up the sword of the Spirit." Today, we are considering the shield of faith.
Before we do so, we must always take careful note of the order that God places things in the scriptures. The order of this armor is very important. We cannot reverse them or mix them up. The reason many of us fail to properly use the shield of faith, or the helmet of salvation, or the sword of the Spirit is because we have not first buckled the truth around our waists, put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We cannot do it in reverse order. Scripture is very exact in this, so as we go through, let us note carefully the order.
The surest signs the enemy is getting an upper hand in our lives is the presence of discouragement, confusion, and indifference. The devil's work primarily comes at us through the flesh which are the evil desires within us. He seizes upon circumstances, and our feelings, and he implants doubts and uncertainties in our minds.
On the other hand, these doubts and uncertainties can be the greatest means by which we grow in our personal intimacy with God. The key is: what is informing us in these moments? Is His word? Or, is it this world? This is why after we have "14 banded the truth around our waist, placed righteousness as our chest plate, 15 and have protected our feet in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace." Paul now writes,"16 Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one."
Now, rather than complain or to give into fear in any way, we "raise the shield of faith above all else, so we will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at us from the wicked one." Faith is acting upon what we believe. It is saying, "Christ is the truth for us, He is our righteousness, He is our peace. The shield of faith is agreeing with God regarding what He has said in His word regarding a given subject.
Appropriating the shield of faith means we refuse to feel condemned or to feel guilty for that which God through Christ has forgiven us. And, He has forgiven through Christ our past, our present and our future sins. Refusing to believe the lie that if we have doubts we do not have faith is what this shield is all about. Doubt is always an attack on our faith. The fact that we have doubts proves that we have faith. Doubt and faith are not opposites at all. Doubt is the proof of the reality that we do have faith. Therefore we re-examine the ground of our faith and reassert it, and remember that feelings are not necessarily facts at all.
Paul challenges us to rest in the previous mentioned truths "so we will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at us from the wicked one." The word “shield” used here is the Greek word thureos, which was an oblong door that was wide in width and long in length. This shield completely covered the Roman soldier! If we appropriate it, God has given us enough faith to make certain we are completely covered for every situation, just like the shield that completely covered a Roman soldier!
If the Roman soldier’s leather shield was not properly taken care of, it would become stiff and breakable over a period of time. In order to keep the shield in good shape, the soldier would each morning saturate the shield with oil to keep it pliable. Neglecting this daily application of oil invited certain death. This shield represents our faith, and it requires frequent anointings of the Holy Spirit. Without a fresh touch of God’s Spirit upon our lives, our faith will become hard, stiff, and brittle. Reaffirming the application of the faith by the exercising of our faith is a daily must. It is sad, but most of us, if not all, need trials to force us to rely upon God. And, in this case, our trials are some of our best friends.
Finally, what happens when we do not actively exercise our faith? When a challenge comes our way, our faith won’t be soft, and pliable enough to stand up under attack. A faith that is ignored nearly always breaks and falls to pieces in the midst of confrontation. Our faith is our heart's ability to see God, therefore we must be diligent to give our hearts to Him and His ways many times in a given day.
