Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Ephesians 6:16
The shield of faith is what you will use to be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. The wicked are those who are against what you stand for. They are those who stand against Christ and who are cruel and bent on warfare. Those who bully and oppress others and worship themself, these are the ones who are wicked. We see the physical evidence in our environment or hear about it every day in the news. Some form of violence is being lashed out among humanity today. What is a Christian to do under such circumstances? The apostle Paul tells us first of all that we should be praying always. The second thing while praying we should be asking God to help us be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Do you have the faith to lift up your shield or stand strong behind your shield? Have you fully put your trust in God? Is God your hiding place and your shield? Holding the shield up is based upon trust. Just look at the two verses below at who is the shield.
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
Proverbs 30:5
“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”
Psalms 119:114
What did David do under an environment of violence. He prayed and played his harp but stood strong in the Lord. He was not ashamed of his hope, for his hope was in God and He learned about the importance of keeping the commandments of God. Can we stand on the word of God alone?
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope.”
Psalms 119:114
Is God your hiding place and shield? Do we hope in His word? I pray that we do have a hiding place and shield in God and that He is our hope. That we do believe in His word because if we do not, we are in danger of losing our soul to the devil. We must remember that we have all fall short of the glory of God because of sin. Whatever is not of faith is sin. In the latter days the apostle Paul warns in 1 Timothy chapter four, verse one, that some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. It is hard to believe that some will depart from the faith we have in Christ, especially to seducing spirits and other doctrines of demons. Other doctrines that sound good but do not follow the character of Christ, or who he is. Jesus said in Matthew 15:9, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” The doctrines of men who would turn you away from the truth of the gospel. That is why it is important not to lay hands on those who are not seasoned in the Lord. In 1 Timothy chapter five, verse 22, it states to “lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partakers of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.” Keep thyself pure and ask God for wisdom into all circumstances so that you do not partake in another’s men’s sins.
Keep yourself pure and beware of alterior motives. A hidden purpose that is behind an organization to change current social positions to a new one due to new policies. It has been said that all too frequently immature and inexperienced Christians are placed in positions of responsibility. I remember how certain denominations forced elderly pastors to resign their position to make room for the young students who have graduated seminary school. I witnessed how these young pastors were compromised in their own faith and many ended up being disillusioned in their own position as a pastor. Today, this position has taken on a world view for employment rather than a spiritual view of feeding the sheep. We must remember that the ministry of the Gospel is a ministry of reconciliation. It is in believing in the Gospel of Christ that we have rest and peace in our life. We cannot enter into rest any other way but by faith in the son of God.
If we have unbelief in our life, then we do not have the shield of faith to ward off the fiery darts of the wicked. We fall under the oppression of the wicked. Our hope is gone. We must remember to whom we placed our hope in.
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.“
Hebrews 11:1
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
Hebrews 11:3
Our hope must be in God the maker of heaven and earth. Our hope must be in God who love the world that He gave us His only son, for it is Christ who gives us everlasting life. It is Jesus who will finish the work of God in our life. How profound is that! That things not seen would come into being under the power of God. Our example is Jesus since he is the author and finisher of our faith. In Hebrews chapter 12 verses one and two, says that we should run with patience the race that is set before us and to look to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. As a human being we can so easily lose patience over difficult circumstances. We must have hope that God will intervene at the right moment on our behalf, for it is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man,” [Psalms 118:8]. Man will fail us, but the Lord’s compassions will never fail us.
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”
Lamentations 3:22
We act upon the conviction of our faith, we will achieve its end result, which is the will of God. This is our confidence that we have in God. We cannot trust ourselves, but we can trust God to move on our behalf. We can trust God to be our shield of faith because we believe in his son who became the author and finisher of our faith. Help us Lord to run with patience the race that is set before us and to hold up the shield of faith that is Jesus. Hold me Lord according to thy word, that I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope in thee. Give us the boldness to speak of thy love and compassion and let our faith grow everyday as we take up the shield of faith so the fiery darts of the wicked fall to the ground. Let us see that this is the evidence of things not seen at present but will come to pass in the end.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
1 John 5:14-15
