In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Ephesians 6:16

Well this is the first time we get to do something besides ”put on” our armor. We get to “hold up” the shield of faith. Now this is important because this is an indication that we are in battle. We don’t just put on our armor and go on our way forgetting about it; we hold up our shield because there is incoming traffic in the form of fiery arrows that the devil is shooting at us.

Note: it’s important to remember these are not coming from people. We’re not fighting against flesh and blood, we are fighting spiritual forces in another dimension. And just what are these arrows? They are things like accusations from the enemy telling us we don’t have what it takes, heaping guilt on us, telling us we’re not enough, there are arrows of doubt, depression, despair, arrows of hopelessness, belittlement, and fear. The devil knows our weaknesses; he’ll use anything to bring us down.

That’s why we have this shield. It is the shield of faith, and faith will quench every fiery arrow he can send. The shield of faith reminds us of who we are in Christ, by faith we claim that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And faith extinguishes anything the enemy can shoot at us. By faith we are gifted, strong and ready to take on anything.

Just today, I withstood an attack by the enemy against Marti and my credibility, and the authenticity of our ministry, although it was initially devastating, because we didn’t see it coming. Sometimes a few of those arrows get through to their target because we don’t have our shields up. So I got with Marti (it’s better not to go into battle alone) and we consoled each other, evaluated what we could learn from about the attack, and used the shield of faith against everything else. With the shield of faith, we were able to not let any more of those arrows reach their target. Faith extinguished them.

Faith is not an abstract, it is a substance. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is so real, it is evidence (proof) of what we can’t see. Faith is self-evident; we know it in our heart. So our shield is a solid thing. It’s as solid as this table I’m working on right now. We can trust it to protect us.

So remind each other. Keep your shield with you at all times; you never know when an attack might come. We’re in the world, people; we’re in the war. Put on your armor, strap on your shoes, grab your shield, and let’s go!