How to Use Your Shield of Faith

The shields used by the Romans in battle during biblical times were as large as a small door and used when attacking a city, which would be surrounded by a wall. The opposition would be up in the wall tossing fiery arrows down and the Romans could protect themselves when they were very close to the enemy.

 “Fiery” is the term often used in the Bible to describe trials we encounter. A trial, in this context, is a hardship we experience when attempting to advance the kingdom of God. It might be trying to start a small group, and no one responds, loving your neighbor and being rejected or being a godly parent enforcing healthy boundaries for your teenager and she says she “hates” you.

Ephesians 6:16 ESV – “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one”

The description seems to fit as when we are getting close to the accomplishment of God’s purposes, we often get fiery trials tossed in our path.

1 Peter 4:12 ESV – “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Jesus was tempted during this exile into the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11). Here are three things we can take away from his example:

1. The enemy may strike when you are weak: In the above account, Jesus was alone, hungry and thirsty. Satan may have assumed Jesus would be at his weakest in that moment, so he sought to tempt him. When you’re in a trial and things are hard, do your best to take care of yourself. Eat, sleep and hang with people that can be an encouragement to you.
2. Satan will lie: Note in the passage the Satan slightly misquotes scripture attempting to entice Jesus to sin. In the midst of a trial, you may encounter lies like why would God choose you for this or you’re bound to fail as you have at so many other things. If God is really in your mission, he’ll get it accomplished.
3. The Word of God is the best defense: After the devil renders his misquote of scripture, Jesus calls on the Word of God to refute his claims, calling on the truth eternal in the Bible. This makes a good case for each of us to spend time in God’s Word, especially when moving through trial or temptation. Also, it is a call to memorize his Word.

Know that trials may be a sign that God is using you and about to accomplish his purpose. Satan sensing the closeness of this, will attempt to throw you off to stall or inhibit the progress. We can take this as a positive, if we choose, and continue on, taking good care of ourselves and holding up the truth of God’s Word as our shield.