SHIELD OF FAITH

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17

Are You Equipped to Fight Off the Enemy?

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a very powerful letter filled with cultural historical facts and the reality of a dark spiritual realm that overshadows the physical world that we see with our eyes. Ephesus was well known as the center of pagan worship of the false goddess, Artimus also known as Diana. The entire society was based on the pagan ritualistic worship at the Temple of this goddess. In the book of Acts, we read about the stir that was caused when Paul came to Ephesus and began to teach people about the freedoms that could be found in Yeshua (Acts 19:23-41).

Although the acts of Yeshua are numerous and amazing, one of the most intriguing accounts is when Jesus casts out not just one demon from a man, but thousands. For those who are familiar with this account, Jesus commanded the demon spirits to leave the man and inhabit the nearby heard of pigs who soon went into a frenzy and threw themselves into the sea (Mark 5:1-13). What many people do not consider is once the pigs drowned, what happened to the legion of demonic spirits?

Demonic spirits do not die. They are free to roam the earth looking for the unsuspecting individual to influence and infiltrate (Gen. 4:4-7; Job 1:6-12; 1 Pet.5:8). They know that there will be an end to their ability to influence the unsuspecting when Jesus returns to cast them into the abyss, so they are as destructive as possible (Lk. 8:31; Rev. 20). When God created humanity, he desired that we have freewill. This is freedom to chose good from evil and to choose whether we will doubt in God or trust in God.

When a person does not trust or obey God (Jn 3:36) they make themselves available for demonic influence. There are also many other things that open the door to the influence of evil. These pathways include pharmaceuticals (sorcery), street drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, hate, jealousy, and many other vices that are mentioned in Scripture (Lev 18; Rom 1:18-32; Rev 21:8). People who fall into any type of sinful behavior invite the demonic to have sway in their lives. This is why there is so much evil in our world. Look around at what is happening in our world today. Human trafficking, depopulation agendas, medical maleficence, social emotional perversions forced on children at the youngest ages, and so much more.

Most of the darkest perversities are so protected that the average person is completely oblivious to what God sees every second of every day (Eph. 5:1-12).

Before Jesus was subjected to torture and execution he prayed for his disciples and for those who would come to a saving knowledge of him through their teachings (John 17:1-26). That is why Bible-believing Christians are the biggest threat to the enemy’s agenda. Paul experienced this spiritual battle and he knew that it would be ongoing until Jesus returned (Acts 19:11-41).

The shield of faith is the piece of armor that God-honoring Christians are afforded to defend themselves from the flaming arrows of the enemy. All of the other pieces of armor are meant for offensive use in this spiritual battle that we are in. The shield of faith should by no means be overlooked.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, 

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16

No matter who you are, if you are walking with God and are actively seeking his face you will be attacked. We have an accuser that is always ready to break a believer’s spirit with discouragement and will do everything to incite a true believer to anger. If a follower of Christ is focused on doing God’s will and spiritually aware, there is little room for the enemy to infiltrate that individual’s spirit and the Armor of God comes into play. On the other hand, most of the population does not wake up seeking God’s will for the day and that is an open invitation to the enemy. This makes them easy prey for the devil to use as his vessels. This includes professing Christians as well.

These are the very people who will find a Christ follower annoying, and the enemy will use them as his vessels to falsely accuse you, as a believer, of all sorts of nonsense. These are the same people who will tell you how inept that you are and their personal attacks are endless. This is demonic and this is where you need to pick up your shield and allow for God to protect you from despair or becoming downtrodden.

God is innovative and encouraging. He will always be there to guide a believer into doing what he or she was born to do. God does not condemn a person, unless they are living in some form of sinful lifestyle that he has warned them to repent of. If you find yourself around individuals who are persistently making false accusations against you and do everything that they can to make you feel inept, it is from the enemy. These are puppets of the devil who are filled with inner rage, jealousy and hate. They have opened themselves up to be used by the demonic.

This is what happened to Paul and the disciples in the first century. They withstood the arrows of the enemy and kept on doing the work of God that was set before them. Pick up your shield and keep advancing for the Kingdom of God. God sees what is going on, so be wise and do not allow for the devil to incite you to sin in response to your accusers. Use the offensive weapons that you have inherited from your heavenly Father to fight back.