Ephesians 6:16, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
That little word “all” holds a lot of truth in Ephe. 6:16. It means in every circumstance, in every situation, not just some instances. On every occasion, Paul is telling us, “take up the shield of faith” and is represented as a shield, protecting us from those persistent efforts of demonic forces to weaken us through fear, doubts, lies, and unbelief. The piece of protection Paul was referring to, used by front line soldiers, was a large, oblong shield that could protect the whole body. It was two feet wide and four feet long, shaped like a door with two layers of wood fused together, with bulls hide glue, and then the outside surface was covered with canvas, and then leather. The upper and lower edges were bound with iron for strength and durability. When a soldier crouched down, his whole body was completely protected and covered from top to bottom of his body with this shield, besides wearing his other pieces of armor. During combat, in Paul’s time, the idea was to injure the enemy and confuse and cause panic by shooting fiery darts at him on all sides, and above his head, with a massive number of arrows. The strategy was to use confusion and terror, dispel any logical thinking, and install a lack of trust. The same is true for us today.
Think about it. When you are confused and fear sets in, and maybe panic, do you always think logically? Is clarity quickly seen at first glance? When extreme stress and pressure keep mounting, how does it take you out? Was it caused by fear of failure, an insult, receiving feedback of an extreme critical nature, or saying yes to too many things? That is often when anger, sarcasm, envy, cynicism, gossip, pride, doubt, despair, become the natural reaction(s), and every one is a sin. Remember, Satan will use your strengths and weaknesses, interests, and tendencies, to bait, confuse, cause panic by snagging and targeting you, to take you down. Do you then withdraw from the world in isolation, or do you give in to sensory escapism, such as overeating or other vises? We all can say, unfortunately, and shamefully, been there, done that.
But our shield of faith extinguishes – “all” – every wrong thought, all fearful feelings, imaginations, doubts, and lies, that are hurled at us by Satan and hurls them back. It deflects “all the flaming darts of the evil one” when we take up the shield of faith.
“Active faith is a shield. Faith says less about you and more about what you really believe to be true about God.” Priscilla Shirer. Our shield of faith will extinguish confusion and panic as we believe God is telling us the truth as we read His Word.
What truth did God show you this week? I would love to know what God is doing in your life. You can share by writing your comment(s) below. We are all in this together, in holding onto our shield of faith, to distinguish confusion and panic in our life. I admit, I don’t always make a connection between what God has done in the past and what He is currently doing in my life. But I do know, and have applied this truth, from God’s Word, this very week, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16.
Listen to Casting Crowns – Voice of Truth song.