Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take a 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for the Saints." NIV
God is so good. I can't even say it enough. God's timing is absolutely perfect. If there was any day this year that I needed to revisit the Shield of Faith, it was today. Sometimes Satan's flaming arrows seem to soar through the air together, at the same time, aiming for the exact same destination....He knows our weaknesses, he knows where there is a gap or two in the armor and Satan does not hesitate to attack full force where he knows it will hurt us the most. In these times of trials and temptations the thing we need the most is our faith. With faith we can extinguish ALL the flaming arrows. Praise God! I needed that reminder today.
There have been four distinct times in my life when the things I feared the most came into being. The pain, indescribable. Hopes and dreams completely shattered, life uglier than I ever cared to see it. Not even sure how I was going to be able to roll out of bed, and carry on living with the deep brokenness I faced. There is no way to prepare yourself for the death of a loved one, when severe illness takes hold of your child, when something devastating and completely out of your control happens to someone you care deeply for...there is no way to know when these things are going to happen. But they happen. And it is in these times that our faith matters the most. When we get the dreaded phone call, when the Dr. delivers the results, when sin and the consequences of it touch your life or a loved one's in a devastating way - Our faith becomes everything. It is what keeps us from crumbling under the weight of the world, it is what shields us on every side, it is what helps us to stand strong even when we have nothing to stand on. Our belief in Jesus is what sustains us through every storm, every trial, every temptation. It is all we have at the end of the day, it's our faith in Jesus that gets us from this life to our eternal one with Him. Look up Ephesians 6:16 in a few different translations and you will see just how important faith is...
"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;" ESV
"At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One." GNT
"Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." NKJV
"Most important of all, you need a covering of faith in front of you. This is to put out the fire-arrows of the devil." NLV
Faith is our best defense against the enemy and all that comes our way! The rest of the defensive armor will stays in it's place, close to the body, but the shield is free to move around from side to side, up and down, it can be held up anywhere and combat anything to protect the one holding it. But to be effective, in our lives our faith needs to be continually practiced we must put it in action. Every day we have choices to make, here are a few...
~We can fear - or have faith that the Lord protects those who find refuge in Him,
~We can run away and try to hide- or stand firm in our faith and on the promises in God's word, He never gives us more than we can handle, and always provides ALL we need for life and godliness,
~We can worry- or we can cast our cares upon the sovereign God who is in control and have faith that He is at work in ALL things even when we can't see what He is doing.
Everyday we have the opportunity to let our faith shine in the little things and the big things of life. And when we feel like we do not have what it takes to walk through the darkness or to stand firm when the flaming arrows of trials and temptations are blazing towards us; if we hold up the shield of faith we have the chance to witness a miracle in us and in our circumstance. We can stand. We can endure and we can bring Him fame and glory through the storm.You may just be amazed at what He can do with even a little bit of your faith.
"Perhaps the most profound miracle of all is living through something we thought would kill us. And not just living, but living abundantly, living effectively, raised from living death to a new life." Beth Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment