Devo 54: Shield of Faith

“…Above all taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one…”


Ephesians 6:15

Faith is one of our primary defensive weapons. The enemy is always throwing fiery darts at us. First, he wreaks havoc in the earth attempting to make things in the natural appear as though the promises of God are not true. He creates circumstances and difficulties to “sift us like wheat” and therefore test our faith (Lk 22:31, Js 1).

Then, he stands and brings accusations against us. His fulltime, 24/7 occupation is to accuse the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He stands and brings accusation against us night after night, day after day. He attacks us with lies and tries to make our minds line up with the negative things we see around us.

Yet, there is One who also stands before the throne day and night, night and day. He always lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 10:25). Do you know what He is praying? He is praying that our faith will not fail (Lk 22:32).

Faith is one of our main defensive weapons. Faith calls things forth that do not yet exist in the natural (Rom. 4:14). It is the substance of things not yet seen (Heb. 11:3).

This is the how our faith is tested. All around us, we see sin, death, sickness, sorrow, pain, lies, despair, anguish, poverty…yet, God has given us victory over all of those things. The test is to believe it even when we do not see it.

But, what happens if we do not see the victory? Satan immediately begins to lie to us—“Those promises will never come true…have you ever seen them? Why do you think that will happen? It’s never happened before…well, they SAY it did, but have you ever seen it? Is there even a God? He doesn’t seem to care about you…Why did He let that happen…”

It’s the same old lies that have been around since the fall of Adam and Eve. Every person throughout the entire history of mankind—including Jesus—was faced with these same lies Satan has been using for thousands of years.

But for all of those millions of people, why do some choose God and some walk away? What is the difference in how they choose to believe? The difference is faith. Faith makes that leap between what is seen and what is unseen. It bridges the gap between the natural and the supernatural. Faith just believes.

When Satan comes at us with lies, accusations, false ideas about God and everything that exalts itself against His name, we must lift up the shield of faith. This shield not only protects us from the fiery darts, but it completely quenches them.

Every lie that comes against us is in exact opposition to a specific truth about God. If we take the truth about God to heart and speak it out, then it completely nullifies the enemy’s schemes.

If we truly believe that God is Just no matter what we see, then the lie that He does not care or does not see, will have no affect on us.. If we believe that God is Good, we will trust Him no matter what circumstances surround us. If we believe that God is Love, we will have no doubt of His love for us, even if His love in manifested in a way we do not understand. If we believe that He is the Sovereign King over the whole earth, then we will believe He will come take dominion over the earth and make the wrong things right.

For every attribute (characteristic) of God revealed in His Word, there is a lie from Satan to oppose it. However, if we have faith in what God says rather than listening to what the enemy says, we will extinguish every lie.

The story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness is a remarkable example of this. Satan himself came and tempted Jesus—Satan in person. That is intense! But do you know what I find even more remarkable? Satan only attempted to use three lies. He only tried to tempt Jesus three times during that testing (*see note).

With every attempt, Jesus released the sword of the Word. It was so powerful that Satan left. I imagine he was thinking, “I’m outta here!” That is because his lies had no power over Jesus, because Jesus’ defensive weapon of faith had absolutely no holes. His shield of faith was not down for one minute (along with the rest of the armor of God), so His defensive end was completely covered. Jesus was playing offense.

As soon as Satan realized that he was the one losing, he high-tailed it out of there like a fox with his tail on fire (** see note).

I wish I could say that Satan only hits me with three lies at a time then tucks his tail and runs, but that would not be true. He bombards me with lies. He bombards us all with lies. Over and over again, he throws those darts.

However, every time a dart is thrown and we feel the sting of its flame, it is an indication of a weak area of our faith. There is a hole somewhere in our shield—hence, the term “testing of our faith” (Js. 1:3). This is part of the reason God allows Satan to “sift us” because as our faith is being tested for holes and by enduring through the testing, patience is produced, and then we are made perfect (mature), lacking nothing (Js. 1, Rom. 5).

How do we practically lift up the shield of faith? We must take similar steps described in the last devotional.

Here are a few practical ways:

1) Identify the lie. Recognize it as a lie and break agreement with it by bringing it before the Lord and repenting for agreeing with it.

2) Recognize the attribute. Recognize what attribute (characteristic) of God that it is coming against. Then, speak that attribute out (i.e. Say out loud, “God, You are Good. I believe You are Good). Turn it into praise and adoration of the Lord.

3) Praise and Thanksgiving. Remember the times that the Lord has impacted your life. Remember His goodness and faithfulness. Thank Him and praise Him. It will truly bring your focus back on His goodness rather than on your lack. Psalm 105 is a good psalm to meditate on.

4) Pray the Word. Pray scriptures that identify that attribute and ask the Lord to reveal it to you.. Pray scriptures and ask the Lord to build your faith.

5) Sing and pray in the Spirit. As you think on the goodness of the Lord, let praise and prayers come out of your heart and sing those out. Sing and pray scriptures and let it flow from your relationship with Holy Spirit. He loves to praise the Lord and if you think on God’s goodness long enough, praise will begin to bubble out of you. Holy Spirit cannot contain His praise!

Bless you all!

Amanda

*Satan tested Jesus again at Gethsemane, and Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, but I am speaking of this one specific instance.

**This is also evidenced by the fact that every demon Jesus encountered throughout the Gospels begged Him not to torment them or cast them into the abyss. Jesus was not affected by them, but He was completely on the offense, kicking demons and taking names.

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved