Shielded

Ephesians 6: 16

Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

I like that Paul does not mince words about “the evil one.” He does not pretend or camouflage that there is a real enemy out there. At the same time, he shows no fear and his confidence seems absolute in these pieces of armor. I believe he was assured that this armor would protect him, as well as each one of us, against “all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” I love that and it inspires me. Maybe, just maybe, we need not be afraid either.

Yesterday’s devotional had an image of a Roman soldier. The soldier is shown holding a shield. That picture helps me to envision my shield extinguishing flaming arrows. I imagine the arrows dissolving into a vapor as they strike the shield, like water extinguishes fire.

There is a lot of vivid imagery of shields in the Bible. The NASB has seventy-four verses about a shield. The first one is good and quite illustrative. It is Genesis 15: 1 and it reads, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you.’” We have seen Jesus’ many roles in our armor. Now Yahweh represents Himself as part of our defensive accoutrements. Are you not astounded by this? I want to quote scripture upon scripture for you but you can run a search yourself so just one more; 2 Samuel 22: 3, “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.”

You know how a shield works. You’ve seen enough movies with warriors brandishing their shields both defensively and offensively. Now overlay all those images with the reality that God, He who is called The Almighty, is your shield. How does it get any better than that?

Put on your shield, put on your God as a shield about you and with it, block and defeat every missile of the evil one. You are able to extinguish every dart, every flaming arrow. Stand firm and strong!