Blog
Sheild of Faith
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Faith is the key ingredient to standing strong against the attacks of Satan. Hebrews 11:1 reads “Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The word SUBSTANCE can have a two-fold meaning;
of foundation, or the idea of having a confident assurance in God. The word EVIDENCE has the idea of testing or
proving God by faith.
In Psalm 91, the writer is proclaiming the wonders and blessings of God’s care and protection. In verse 4, he says
this; “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge: His truth shall be your shield
and buckler.” The word TRUTH has the meaning of the truth about God’s character and attributes. Our growing
understanding of God’s character and how He works is a critical part of putting on the Shield of Faith. Knowing and
praying the promises of God is also an important part of putting on the Shield of Faith. In fact, faith is the key
element of all the other pieces of armor.
A Roman shield was a very important part of a soldier’s equipment, for standing against the wiles and cunning of
Satan. A Roman shield was around 1.5 meters long and made of wood. The shield was then covered in either animal
hide or a thin layer of metal. The reason for this covering was to be able to deal with Barbarians the Romans fought
against. They would use fire-arrows as a means of causing confusion and chaos among their enemies. With a
covering of animal hide or metal, the arrows would be extinguished without setting the wooden shield on fire.
The idea Paul is conveying to us here is that the enemy comes with all sorts of temptations that are like a flaming
arrow that can enter our minds via our eyes and ears, and inflames our minds and hearts against God. A classic
example of how the enemy does this is through our computers and the Internet. I was meeting with a good friend of
mine recently in his office.
Key to maintaining this shield is faith because as Hebrews 11:6 states: “It is impossible to please God without faith.”
If we are not walking by faith we cannot deal with these fiery arrows that Satan constantly launches at us. My
friend’s response was to immediately delete the emails that had the potential to poison his heart and mind.
The other aspect of this unity is the church and how it is perceived in the community. Satan has been using the fiery
arrows of division, dissension and disharmony for centuries in the church. This is why it is important that we connect
our Shields of Faith as a body to deal with these fiery arrows. Church splits and constant in-fighting is doing the
church unbelievable harm both inside and outside. The non-Christian community has, I think, a low view of the
church as a whole. Thankfully, not all churches fit into this category.
So let us walk by faith not wavering, trusting God to keep us and protect us. 1 Thessalonians 3:3 says this: “The Lord
is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” May you know and believe.
Carl Carmody
Challenge Editor
Another important aspect of the Roman shield was that at the edge of it a curved section allowed it to connect to
the shield next to it. So a group of soldiers could go into battle as a unified group. It goes without saying that we
need each other and to be accountable to each other in varying degrees, to help each other to ward off the fiery
darts of the evil one.
As we were chatting, he received a hard-core pornographic email. He indicated that somehow the particular group
had managed to get his email address and had been targeting him with these worded emails. These emails can be
viewed as a fiery arrow of temptation to ignite a fire of lust in our minds and hearts.
The key to growing in our faith is the Word of God. Romans 10:17 states, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the word of God.” With the present epidemic of biblical illiteracy amongst Christians, it is no surprise that putting on
the Shield of Faith is a tough task indeed.
Read More ...
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 8)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 7)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 6)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 5)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 4)
The Lord is My Shepherd (Part 3)
Stay Connected ...
Newsletters come out once per month. Keep up to date, pray, be inspired. Connect below to receive it.
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
Menu
International Offices
Australia
