The Shield of Faith
“In addition to all of these,
hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:16 NLT
We continue our study this week learning
about next piece of our spiritual armor – the Shield of Faith. When the word shield
comes to my mind, I immediately think of ways to protect myself from something
damaging. The Holy Spirit, through Apostle Paul, instructs us to wield the shield of faith in order to stop and
protect ourselves against the fiery arrows that the enemy will try to destroy
us with. We will learn about its importance, as well as the type of fiery
arrows that try to destroy us.
What
is a shield? A shield was designed to protect soldiers
while in battle. In ancient days, shields took on several forms throughout the years.
We can browse history books and pore through archeology finds, and it would not
take long to notice the similarities of shields throughout different cultures. The
word shield is used often throughout
the Bible. David made references to a shield at least fifteen (15) times in the
Book of Psalms when he talked about the Lord being his and Israel’s protection.
King David was a man of war; which means
that he was very familiar with a shield and its purpose. He gave the Lord an
attribute – among many descriptives in Psalm 18:2, 30 – which is a buckler. The Hebrew word for buckler is magen, which means a small round shield;
in Greek it was called hoplon. I
looked into this a little bit, because my thoughts about a small round shield had me puzzled. What good would a small shield serve a soldier that was
being attacked? Well, to my surprise, a magen
served many purposes. It was not just for defensive
maneuvers, but for offensive
maneuvers as well. It was small enough to use during hand-to-hand combat for
striking an effective blow, while at the same time defending against a sword or
dagger attack. The following are some of the uses for the magen – or buckler: it
was used to protect the sword-hand; effective for deflecting swords and
daggers; could be used to hide the sword-hand while attacking – keeping his
enemy from guessing his next move; could be used to directly attack by punching
with the center part, or metal rim; could be used to bind the enemy’s shield
and weapons to his body. As we can see, the magen
– or buckler – was quite an
important piece of armor.
Over time, a larger shield came into existence called the scutum (Latin) or thyreos
(Greek). This particular shield was much larger than the buckler – ah, yes, a large shield; that’s more my
speed. The scutum – or thyreos – could hide the entire body
while under attack. Like the bucklers,
they went through metamorphosis stages throughout the years – which improved
efficiency and effectiveness. One unique feature about the scutum was the way it was designed. A group of soldiers could
overlay the edges of their shields on top of each other, overhead, to produce
one massive shield that would protect
the entire group from arrows and spears directed toward them. They were usually
thick enough to prevent a sword, arrow, or spear from penetrating; yet, they
were light enough and strong enough to ram through an adversary or barricade.
As they marched, I visualize them taking the appearance likened unto a moving wall, as they hid behind their
shields. While both the magen and scutum were equally important, they were
different sizes and served different purposes. Nevertheless, both were very effective for defensive and offensive maneuvers.
What
is faith? “Faith is the confidence
that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).” Confidence and assurance – two attributes
just about every child has, that somehow tend to become lost as we grow older.
I guess that could happen for various reasons and caused by various circumstances.
A child, however, has no problem believing the impossible, attempting the unattainable,
and daring to prove they can do just what they are told they can’t do. A child has no comprehension
of what a ridiculous idea is; to them
it is reality. I understand more and more why Jesus desires our faith to be
like that of a child (Matthew 18: 2-4). A child, in their innocence and
humbleness, boldly believes that ALL
things are possible. That is where God wants each and every one of His children
– to believe that ALL things are
possible with Him (Mark 9:23, 10:27).
When I was a child, I really enjoyed
reading comic books; especially the ones about superheroes. Some of my favorites
– and probably true for most boys that are into action comic books – were the
ones with Superman. What boy, at the age of seven, would not want to be faster
than a speeding bullet, leap tall buildings with a single bound, and stop
locomotives? I really liked the part about where he could fly everywhere – how cool is that?! One day,
I decided to take a bed sheet – that doubled as a cape – and went outside to do
what I dreamed of doing – fly. I jumped and jumped and jumped, but I just could
not seem to attain any distance between me and the ground – gravity just would
not cooperate. I thought, maybe, if I jumped off of something; that will help. I climbed on top of the shed, worked
up my courage, ran as fast as I could, and just like Superman, I went
airborne – briefly, before gravity found me, pulling me down, causing me to hit
the ground wide open. That was NOT
what I had planned, nor how I thought it would turn out. In my mind, I believed
that I could fly. Did that stop me? No, I tried again. Children don’t give up
easily; especially when they really want something. They will ask and ask and
ask and keep on asking, believing that the adult will finally say “Yes”. Confidence and assurance.
Faith is believing God and trusting that
anything is possible with Him – even when it seems ridiculous (Matthew 19:26).
Abraham believed what God said; he took Him at His Word and it was accounted to
him for righteousness (Galatians 3:6). He never saw God, never heard of God,
and never heard God’s voice before that moment he was told to leave his country
and kindred (Genesis 12). This was an idol worshipper, a pagan, a nomad that
portrayed everything God is not – yet, he trusted Him. Faith believes that no
matter what the current situation looks like, it will continue to trust in the
unseen promises of God. Faith is living in the supernatural, where unseen things
are just as much a reality and tangible as are physical things.
How
do we use the Shield of Faith? In our everyday walk, we are faced with forces
that are unseen. For the child of God, attacks will come, calamities will often
arise, and attempts to destroy our lives is the ultimate goal of satan. The shield of faith will help in guarding
ourselves against these unseen forces.
Attacks. Paul tells
us that attacks will come by fiery arrows.
Satan will shoot at us arrows of fear, doubt, low self-esteem, depression,
temptations, etc. All of these types of arrows are pulled from a quiver of lies. Jesus tells us that
satan is a liar and the father of lies; when he lies, it’s consistent with his character
(John 8:44). The weaponry he uses is based on lies; it is counterfeit; and it
holds no material realism or foundational truth. We read in Matthew chapter
four about the temptations of Jesus. Satan came to Him after He had been
fasting for forty days and nights. However, every lie satan would tempt Jesus
with, Jesus replied with the truth by using the Word of God on him. Finally, He
told satan to leave; so he did (Matthew 4: 10-11). We must not only be
knowledgeable in the Word of God, but also believe
what it says. Having faith in the Word of God will show by how we live our lives. We show our faith in what God says, by our continued obedience to His
Word. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). If we are
not living by His Word and walking in His statutes, we have no faith. The enemy
will discern a person of faith from a person of unbelief. By using our shield of faith, we have the confidence and assurance in the Word of
God – truth – and that will always extinguish the attack of lies.
Calamities. At some
point in our lives we will be faced with calamities – also known as
catastrophes, disasters, misfortune, etc. Christians are not exempt from these.
Some may be external, and some internal. They may come through loss of loved
ones; loss of everything in a fire; everything may seem to crumble around you;
depression; oppression; and so forth. Even though these events may come, we can
have faith – confidence and assurance
– in the Word of God that Psalm 34:19 is true: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” KJV.
As we learned in our previous lesson about the Breastplate of Righteousness, Job was a righteous man that God
allowed satan to try – he was allowed to destroy anything he wanted but could
not take Job’s life (Job 2:6). Even though Job had his questions, he still
trusted God. Whatever calamities that may arise in our lives, we can have faith
– confidence and assurance – that God
will deliver us out of all our
afflictions.
Attempts to destroy life. While
having His Last Supper with His disciples
hours before He was betrayed, Jesus turned to Peter and told him that satan
desired to sift him as wheat, but He had already prayed for him, that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:31). Satan
would love nothing more than to destroy the lives of Christians. It has nothing
to do with us, but everything to do with God and satan’s rebellion and hatred
toward Him. Jesus says in John 10:10 that the enemy came to do nothing but to steal,
kill and destroy; however, by faith, we also have that confidence and assurance in knowing that Jesus came to do what He
said He came to do in the latter part of that verse – to give us life and give it more abundantly. Even though our
adversary is walking about the earth to and fro like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour (1 Peter 4:8), we need to stand against him and remain strong in
our faith (1 Peter 4:9) – the confidence
and assurance – that satan can do no
more than God allows. God is faithful and is our Protector. As King David would
say – our Buckler!
So, as we can see, wielding the shield of faith constantly, consistently,
with skill, will prove to be effective protection against the deception arrows of the
enemy. We must not lay it aside at any time. We must maintain it by staying in
the Word of God and walking in His Promises. We must continue to walk by faith –
in the confidence and assurance of what
God has promised us; and, not by sight – the circumstances that surround us. Until next week, may the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.
“And it is impossible to
please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God
exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 NLT
Next week –
The Full Armor of God: Helmet of Salvation (Part 6)
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