“above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
– Ephesians 6: 16 NKJV
Captain America, one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel cinematic universe has conquered evil humans, robots, and even aliens. However, one of the most interesting facts about him is his weapon— an impenetrable shield made of a Vibranium-metal alloy that has never been duplicated and can keep him safe as long as he is behind it. In the same way, as believers, we have an impenetrable shield which is even more powerful and it is called faith.
Faith is one of the most common concepts in Christianity today, but make no mistake, our kind of faith is not common. To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for and to be certain of the things we cannot see (Hebrews 11: 1 GNT). In other words, faith is what you do to solidify the hopes that you know will come true. It is seeing the things that are not, as if they are, and acting accordingly based on God’s word.
Sometimes, faith may come off as craziness or irrationality to those who don’t understand, and that’s okay. A vivid example of this is seen in the lives of the three Hebrew boys who chose getting roasted in a fiery furnace over simply bowing to an image of the king of Babylon (Daniel 3: 16-28). No matter how you look at this story, it seems like these boys were doing the most, but that’s what faith is – believing the word of God to the very last letter, regardless of what the opposition may be.
Faith makes tremendous things possible. Jesus said that even though we have faith as tiny as a mustard seed of 1mm, we can still move the 2,419-metre-high Mount Chappal Waddi from Taraba to Lagos (Matthew 17: 20). What a wonder!
From our anchor scripture, we learn that faith is a shield that can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. The devil is deceitful and none of what he tells us is true. His weapon is that of trickery and lies so if we as believers have faith in the word of God, we will see through the wiles of the devil and stand firm in the days of danger.
Another solid example of someone who fought and conquered grave danger with nothing but the shield of faith is David when he faced Goliath. Even though he had a sling and a stone, the real reason why he defeated Goliath was his faith— his radical belief in who God is and what He can do (I Samuel 17: 44- 47). Imagine the audacity it took for a teenager to be threatening a giant!
Just like 1 Timothy 6: 12 lets us know, faith is a battle to be fought. The devil is after our faith because he knows that it keeps us protected and shielded. If he can just make us waiver in our faith in God, then he can get us. But we are not ignorant of the devices of the devil (James 1: 6, 2 Corinthians 2: 11), so we fight the good fight of faith and we take hold of the eternal life to which we were called.
Are you ready to fight the good fight of faith? Then shun the devil’s wiles and put on the shield of faith!
CONFESSION:
Today and for the rest of my life, I am an avid believer in the word of God
I have faith in who He is and what He can do
I am not a doubter, I am a believer
I put on the shield of faith and in doing so, I put on the whole impenetrable armour of God! Glory!
Bible Reading Plan:
John 6:60-71, 1 Peter 4:1-11, Song of Songs 6, Lamentations 1