Christian Devotional - The Shield

Have you seen the new Avengers Movie? I realize this may be a bit of a stretch for a devotional, but hang with me for just a minute. In that movie, Captain America used his shield to fend off the many attacks that are sent his way. In one particular scene, he’s fighting a monster who pulls out a type of grenade and Captain America jumps up in the air and pulls his body into a tight tuck, hidden completely from the blast and protected by his amazing shield.





Today as we continue to look at the Armor of God, we’re looking at the shield of faith. This shield is meant to hide and protect us from all the attacks that we are certain to face. Let’s go back through the verses in Ephesians and add the next verse dealing with the shield.





Ephesians 6:13-16 – “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”





The shield of faith is the next piece of the Armor that God has given us to be able to resist the inevitable attacks that are headed our way. All those flaming arrows are bearing down on us and we’re going to need protection. Our defense? Faith. Faith allows us to snuff out and deflect every flaming arrow that Satan sends toward us trying to make us doubt or fear or disobey. Having our faith in Jesus Christ gives us the confidence to know that we know that we know, God is truth and we can place our full confidence in Him.





But wait, shouldn’t that be enough? Faith is indeed very powerful, but we can’t just walk out the door in the morning carrying our shield of faith and forgetting every other piece of armor we’ve already talked about. The Bible clearly says in verse 16 above, “in addition to all.” Faith is at its strongest when it is based on truth, righteousness, and preparation. When Satan attacks us with doubt, for example, being able to have faith, knowing that we’re founded on the Truth of the Word of God, guarding our heart with righteousness, and being prepared and ready, gives our faith that much more stability to stand our ground and not succumb to the attack.





One more note, in the Avengers, Captain America uses his shield as a weapon in addition to being his protection. He throws it as a means to attack and take down the enemy. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities to God’s shield of faith end. We should never use faith as a means of attack, especially against others. I’ve seen Christians lash out at others, both believers and non-believers, telling them they are superior because they have stronger faith. They believe they are going to conquer all because of their amazing faith. They are wrong. That is simply not how God designed us to fight our battles. Faith is our protection; it guards our whole self from the lies and attacks of Satan. It was never meant to be used as a weapon to accuse and belittle others. God does give us a weapon to use and we’ll study that 2 weeks from now, but rest assured it is not faith.





Are we using our faith to guard and protect ourselves when the attacks come? Is our faith grounded in the truth of God, strengthened by our passion for righteousness, and tested by our preparation? If so, we are well on our way to being ready to walk out and guard ourselves from the attacks so that we can stand firm.





Kristi Burchfiel, Christian devotional author and speaker

Living in the World – Living out the Word

Check out my website and daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook page



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