“In addition to all of this, take up the shield of
faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16
Faith is an invaluable spiritual commodity. By faith we receive Jesus Christ as our
Savior. By faith we believe all of the
promises in the Bible. By faith we pray
to God, bringing our petitions and requests for healing, deliverance, direction
and help to the Lord. Faith is so
powerful, that the Bible declares that “without faith it is impossible to
please God.” (Hebrews 11:6)
The Roman’s soldiers shield was believed to have
been made by leather or animal hides and the night before a battle the soldiers
would soak it in water to make it saturated to the point that it would
extinguish the flaming arrows (arrows on fire) which some of their enemies
would shoot at them. Additionally, the shields would be rubbed with oil to make
it supple to glance blows off of it. In
the Bible, oil is often used as a type of the Holy Spirit. When you put it all together, it is a
powerful analogy. Faith, bathed in the oil
of the Holy Spirit, soaked by the washing of the water of the Word (Ephesians
5:26) will turn away all the efforts of the enemy to destroy us with his
arrows.
What kinds of arrows do you face today? Is it unkind words that have been spoken about
you? Is it a negative prognosis that has
been spoken over you? Is it divorce or
losing your job? No matter what evil the
enemy throws at you- you have a powerful defensive weapon at your
disposal. You can believe, standing in
faith that God will defend you.
Dear Lord, help me to take up my shield of
faith. Help me to tend it with the oil
of the Holy Spirit and the saturation with the water of the Word. Thank you for giving me the authority to
extinguish the darts of the enemy. In
Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Sherri
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