Above All, Taking the Shield of Faith

Every morning we wake up and have our morning routine.  Everyone’s is just a little different, but there are similarities that we all share.  We all have something to eat, brush our teeth, and get dressed.  We have done this every day since we were born, although when we were younger, we had help.  It is so intuitive and natural that we usually don’t even think about it.  It is a habit.

In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul talks about putting on the whole armor of God.  He conveyed his message in these terms because people of the day would have been familiar with how Roman soldiers dressed for battle.  Every piece of the Roman soldier’s armor had some spiritual significance.  We know that the pieces of armor he refers to are:  the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, sword of the spirit, feet of peace, shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation.

In Ephesians 6:13, Paul emphasizes that we need to take and put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.  Unfortunately, we live on earth right now.  This earth has a fallen nature, but we are here to bring heaven back to earth.  Jesus taught us to pray “on earth as it is in heaven”.  In the process of this work, we are targets.  We are soldiers.  We are fighting the good fight.  The enemy has not forgotten his assignment.  He is roaming as a roaring lion seeking those of us who will let him devour us.  There are fiery darts being thrown in our direction ALL the time.  This is so important to understand.  We have to be aware that this is happening in the spirit realm.  What happens in the spirit realm feeds over into the natural realm.

Just like we put on our entire outfit each day, we must be aware to put on the spiritual attire which is what a soldier wears, the whole armor of God.  The piece of the armor I want to hone in on is the shield of faith.

Paul puts special emphasis on the shield of faith.  He says in Ephesians 6:16 (KJV), “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”  So, it is important to wear all of the pieces of armor, but ABOVE ALL, we must take the shield of faith.  Faith is a shield in battle.  Whether we like it or not, we are soldiers.  In order to fight, we must take faith with us.

No matter what comes our way, we can use our faith to quench fiery darts that only want to take us out.  Faith stops and acts as a barrier between the fiery darts and us, stopping them in their tracks.  It acts like water to extinguish the fire and put out the flame.

There are examples too numerous to list here of fiery darts, but let’s just look at one.  Thoughts.  The enemy whispers thoughts to us constantly that we must be aware of.  These thoughts are not our thoughts.  The source is the enemy.  We are not the source.  God certainly is not the source.  The enemy may whisper thoughts such as, “You will never bring in enough income to live in financial freedom.  You will always struggle.”  This is clearly from the enemy because it is a lie.  The bible tells us that Satan is the father of lies.  Therefore, it cannot be from God or us.  We must identify the source of the fiery dart.  If we don’t use faith, then the fiery dart will hit us and we will be severely injured by the flames.  If enough of the darts hit us, they will take us out and kill us.

Therefore, we must use faith.  By faith, we take the word of God.  We say that this is not our thought.  We stop it in its path and extinguish it by speaking the word of God instead.  We can say, “I am the head and not the tail.  I am above and not beneath.  I am blessed coming in and going out.”  These are words of faith.  When we use the shield of faith, it works.

I like how the Passion Translation phrases verse 16.  It says, “In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the Evil One!”  Having a wrap-around shield is a great thing, especially when there are continuous fiery darts coming at you.  It will protect you on all sides.  There is no part of you that is left exposed.  That’s how powerful faith is.  This is why Paul said “ABOVE ALL, TAKE THE SHIELD OF FAITH.”

The word “TAKE” means “to receive or accept.”  In Roman times, the Roman soldier would put on all his pieces of armor.  Then after all that was on, an attendant or armor bearer would hand him his helmet.  The soldier would have to receive or accept, effectually TAKING the shield.

The shield of that day was a large oblong or oval piece of wood covered with linen and hide bound with iron.  It was very large and protected the soldier’s whole body.  There was no part of the soldier that was left exposed.  Other pieces of the armor were used to just defend one part of the body.  The shield then was a final and all-encompassing protection.  When soldiers marched next to each other, side to side, they would put up their shields next to each other to form a solid wall of protection.

It is interesting that the shield was the Roman soldier’s most prized and highly regarded piece of armor.  It was a major disgrace if the soldier lost his shield in battle, more so than losing their position to the enemy on the battlefield.  THE ROMAN SOLDIER REFUSED TO PART WITH HIS SHIELD.

Paul knew how valuable and important the shield was.  When he referred to the shield of faith, he was not referring to a passive faith.  On the contrary, the shield of faith is something we SHOULD REFUSE TO PART WITH!

The ancient armies did use fiery darts as weapons.  There are accounts that soldiers counted as many as two hundred and twenty fiery darts sticking to his shield.  Just as the soldier shielded himself from this barrage of fiery darts by using his shield, we too must activate our faith.  We must take the shield of faith and refuse to part with it.

Taking and refusing to part with faith is a daily task.  We know that in Romans 10:17, it says that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  We must hear the word of God.  We must constantly put a steady diet of the word of God into us.  Then it will be there as we need it daily.  And we will need it.  That is a sure thing.

Christ gave us the gift of faith when we accepted him.  It is Christ’s faith in us, not our own faith that we take up and use.  And because Jesus has already overcome the world, his faith in us is victorious.  That is another sure thing.

Paul also was probably referring to Psalm 91:4-5 when he referred to the shield of faith.  In those verses, it says that “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:  his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.”  These verses speak of complete and absolute safety from the enemy, being shielded in every direction.

By taking and using the shield of faith, we create a barrier where no fiery dart can touch us.  We are surrounded by a circle of protection.  As we live our lives here on earth, we will live the good life, sheltered, protected by ABOVE ALL taking the shield of faith.

Faith – take it, receive it, apply it, use it, and refuse to never part with it!