The Armor of God #4: The Shield of Faith
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
One of my favorite scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies is the beginning o
f the epic battle scene in the second movie, the Two Towers. The armies of evil mass at the base of the castle at Helm’s Deep, preparing for a mighty attack. Up on the top of the castle, in the driving rain, elves and humans prepare to rain arrows down on the marauding hordes. As the battle begins, arrows fly down upon the orcs, killing many of them. It’s only fitting that they first attack with arrows, because arrows are weapons that are best suited for long-distance attacks. An archer does not need to risk hand-to-hand combat to shoot arrows. This applies as well to spiritual warfare, as Satan does not need a foothold in your life in order to attack you with his arrows; he can (and does) shoot them from afar.
I really doubt that any of you have had real, physical arrows shot at you. I know the only time I experienced an arrow attack was when I played with one of those suction cup bow-and-arrow sets. But Satan doesn’t fire real, physical arrows at us. No, Satan’s attacks take different forms. Sometimes Satan uses other people and their sinful attitudes to attack us. He uses:
We, however, do have an effective means of stopping these attacks. The apostle Paul tells his hearers to “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
The scripture says that the shield of faith will stop Satan’s fiery arrows. How does that work? First of all, understand that faith does not stop Satan from shooting his arrows – if the first salvo doesn’t get you, the devil will redouble his efforts.
Something I am assured of is that Satan continues to attack Christians. It seems like perhaps the only way to steer clear of his attacks is to give up – to do no work for God’s kingdom at all. In another scene from the Two Towers, the Theodin, King of Rohan, when asked to fight to save humankind, says, “I will not bring further death to my people. And I will not risk open war.” To this, Aragorn replies, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”
Even if you don’t like it, spiritual warfare is upon you, whether you would risk it or not. Here’s the deal; if you’re on God’s side, Satan’s arrows will fly toward you.
Though faith doesn’t stop the arrows from coming, faith stops the arrows from finding their mark.
Faith shields us from the arrows. The book of Hebrews defines faith as the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Now, it’s generally easy to have faith in what we see. It’s easy to have faith that is substantiated through the senses and experience. We have great faith in much of science – gravity, for one example. We can’t see gravity itself, but we see its effects, and our experience with gravity has been consistent. So, since we know about it from experience, we know how gravity will act in most situations and how it will affect us.
But how can we believe that we’ll be protected from Satan’s attacks by a shield we cannot see?
I wonder what our relationship with God is like. For some, it is as sure as gravity. You know God extremely well, and you’ve had to. Maybe you can’t explain how it happened, but you know you’ve been under spiritual attack and you were able to make it through. You haven’t given up. You continue doing God’s work. Your faith in God has somehow gotten you through.
I’ve often heard people say such things as, “I don’t know how she does it. If I had as many troubles as she does, I don’t think I’d make it.” Perhaps you’ve said those words yourself. And on your own, you probably wouldn’t. But faith has a way of making things different. Faith has a way of helping us make it where there didn’t seem to be a way.
Faith is always reminding us that there is something bigger going on. When troubles seem overwhelming, faith reminds us that God is the Creator of the universe and that He can help. God has a plan – suffering is even part of that plan, as Romans 5 tells us: suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Even through suffering, we still have hope. While Satan’s arrows try to convince us that suffering is all there is, with faith, we know that there is more.
One of the toughest questions asked of Christians is this: why do bad things happen to good people. Even this question itself can represent the flaming arrows of Satan – the questioner generally assumes that God should stop all attacks (on so-called good people) and that for some reason He just doesn’t. But no matter the motives of those asking; that question is really a valid question. A simple answer is that there is a devil who is constantly on the attack.
Furthermore, faith reminds us that this life isn’t all there is. James 4:14 says, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Even the greatest joys in our lives, though they are all we know, will pale in comparison to the joy that is heaven.
Faith resembles a difficult race like the marathons I’ve run. During the marathon, I had to concentrate on finishing the race. I couldn’t simply concentrate on getting to a certain mile marker, because if I had been satisfied to run 20 miles, I would not have finished. If you ask a marathon runner why we do it, there are two main reasons: we feel great personal satisfaction for finishing the race, and we love the physical benefits of the extreme exercise. These apply as well in the spiritual realm: God promises us great rewards for persevering, and the process itself builds strong character. Faith enables us to persist, even in the face of suffering.
The other half of that is the great reward that awaits us in heaven. To be honest, we cannot imagine how great heaven will be. Too often we rely on lame images of heaven – sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp… I can assure you that heaven will be much better than this! It is unimaginably good – so good that it will make every bit of pain worth it. Kind of like reaching that finish line in a marathon – if you haven’t done it, you wouldn’t imagine how it feels.
On an absolutely basic level, faith enables us to please God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, and anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Notice that faith isn’t simply belief in God, but it also includes belief that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
This community is obviously steeped in the Protestant work ethic – that hard work today will pay rewards tomorrow, and is thus worth it. Faith is like that, but instead of the hard, physical work, instead of the pain of running a marathon, the requirement is to sincerely seek God.
James 4:8 tells us to “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” Our faith keeps us near to God, and it reminds us that we are under God’s protection and that He will reward us. And what about those nagging doubts and fears? Faith convinces us that scripture is true, and that our identity is that which God has given us. Listen to how the Bible describes us:
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:10-18
One of my favorite scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies is the beginning o
f the epic battle scene in the second movie, the Two Towers. The armies of evil mass at the base of the castle at Helm’s Deep, preparing for a mighty attack. Up on the top of the castle, in the driving rain, elves and humans prepare to rain arrows down on the marauding hordes. As the battle begins, arrows fly down upon the orcs, killing many of them. It’s only fitting that they first attack with arrows, because arrows are weapons that are best suited for long-distance attacks. An archer does not need to risk hand-to-hand combat to shoot arrows. This applies as well to spiritual warfare, as Satan does not need a foothold in your life in order to attack you with his arrows; he can (and does) shoot them from afar.I really doubt that any of you have had real, physical arrows shot at you. I know the only time I experienced an arrow attack was when I played with one of those suction cup bow-and-arrow sets. But Satan doesn’t fire real, physical arrows at us. No, Satan’s attacks take different forms. Sometimes Satan uses other people and their sinful attitudes to attack us. He uses:
- Gossip
- Unfriendliness
- Insider vs. outsider mentality
- Hatred
- Racism
- Unrealistic expectations
- Stereotypes
- Greed
- Envy
- Entitlement mentality
- Constant negativity
- Self-doubt
- Other doubts
- Guilt
- Sickness
- Depression
- Despair
- Uncertainty
- Procrastination
- Boredom
We, however, do have an effective means of stopping these attacks. The apostle Paul tells his hearers to “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
The scripture says that the shield of faith will stop Satan’s fiery arrows. How does that work? First of all, understand that faith does not stop Satan from shooting his arrows – if the first salvo doesn’t get you, the devil will redouble his efforts.
Something I am assured of is that Satan continues to attack Christians. It seems like perhaps the only way to steer clear of his attacks is to give up – to do no work for God’s kingdom at all. In another scene from the Two Towers, the Theodin, King of Rohan, when asked to fight to save humankind, says, “I will not bring further death to my people. And I will not risk open war.” To this, Aragorn replies, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”
Even if you don’t like it, spiritual warfare is upon you, whether you would risk it or not. Here’s the deal; if you’re on God’s side, Satan’s arrows will fly toward you.
Though faith doesn’t stop the arrows from coming, faith stops the arrows from finding their mark.
Faith shields us from the arrows. The book of Hebrews defines faith as the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Now, it’s generally easy to have faith in what we see. It’s easy to have faith that is substantiated through the senses and experience. We have great faith in much of science – gravity, for one example. We can’t see gravity itself, but we see its effects, and our experience with gravity has been consistent. So, since we know about it from experience, we know how gravity will act in most situations and how it will affect us.
But how can we believe that we’ll be protected from Satan’s attacks by a shield we cannot see?
I wonder what our relationship with God is like. For some, it is as sure as gravity. You know God extremely well, and you’ve had to. Maybe you can’t explain how it happened, but you know you’ve been under spiritual attack and you were able to make it through. You haven’t given up. You continue doing God’s work. Your faith in God has somehow gotten you through.
I’ve often heard people say such things as, “I don’t know how she does it. If I had as many troubles as she does, I don’t think I’d make it.” Perhaps you’ve said those words yourself. And on your own, you probably wouldn’t. But faith has a way of making things different. Faith has a way of helping us make it where there didn’t seem to be a way.
Faith is always reminding us that there is something bigger going on. When troubles seem overwhelming, faith reminds us that God is the Creator of the universe and that He can help. God has a plan – suffering is even part of that plan, as Romans 5 tells us: suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Even through suffering, we still have hope. While Satan’s arrows try to convince us that suffering is all there is, with faith, we know that there is more.
One of the toughest questions asked of Christians is this: why do bad things happen to good people. Even this question itself can represent the flaming arrows of Satan – the questioner generally assumes that God should stop all attacks (on so-called good people) and that for some reason He just doesn’t. But no matter the motives of those asking; that question is really a valid question. A simple answer is that there is a devil who is constantly on the attack.
Furthermore, faith reminds us that this life isn’t all there is. James 4:14 says, “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Even the greatest joys in our lives, though they are all we know, will pale in comparison to the joy that is heaven.
Faith resembles a difficult race like the marathons I’ve run. During the marathon, I had to concentrate on finishing the race. I couldn’t simply concentrate on getting to a certain mile marker, because if I had been satisfied to run 20 miles, I would not have finished. If you ask a marathon runner why we do it, there are two main reasons: we feel great personal satisfaction for finishing the race, and we love the physical benefits of the extreme exercise. These apply as well in the spiritual realm: God promises us great rewards for persevering, and the process itself builds strong character. Faith enables us to persist, even in the face of suffering.
The other half of that is the great reward that awaits us in heaven. To be honest, we cannot imagine how great heaven will be. Too often we rely on lame images of heaven – sitting on a cloud, strumming a harp… I can assure you that heaven will be much better than this! It is unimaginably good – so good that it will make every bit of pain worth it. Kind of like reaching that finish line in a marathon – if you haven’t done it, you wouldn’t imagine how it feels.
On an absolutely basic level, faith enables us to please God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, and anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Notice that faith isn’t simply belief in God, but it also includes belief that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
This community is obviously steeped in the Protestant work ethic – that hard work today will pay rewards tomorrow, and is thus worth it. Faith is like that, but instead of the hard, physical work, instead of the pain of running a marathon, the requirement is to sincerely seek God.
James 4:8 tells us to “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” Our faith keeps us near to God, and it reminds us that we are under God’s protection and that He will reward us. And what about those nagging doubts and fears? Faith convinces us that scripture is true, and that our identity is that which God has given us. Listen to how the Bible describes us:
- The light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
- A child of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26, 4:6)
- A new person – past forgiven and everything is new (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- A citizen of heaven (Ephesians 2:19)
- Righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)
- Chosen of God and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
- A member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9-10)
- Free from the punishment my sin deserves (Romans 8:1)
- I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God, and he will meet my needs lovingly and kindly (Hebrews 4:16)
Comments
Anyhow, good for you :)