Here we are, God’s daughters, under attack. Every day the enemy attacks with the hopes of distracting us or distancing us from God. That’s why we must put on the full armor God has offered us. He doesn’t want his girls vulnerable to the devil, he wants us victorious.

Last week we studied the first 3 pieces of our God given armor for the spiritual battle:
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Shoes of Peace

Now, it’s time for us to pick up our shield. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to all these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Okay girls, let’s learn about this shield and about those fiery arrows coming our way.

Roman soldiers had 2 kinds of shields. One was a small, handheld shield. This is not the shield Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about the other type of shield – the one almost as big as a door. This shield was called the scutum (pronounced sk-U-tum). This shield, the sputum was about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, made of layers of laminated wood, then covered with leather and bound with iron. The shield was big enough for a soldier to crouch behind and be completely protected.

You’ve likely seen the movies where soldiers are carrying these large rectangular shields and when the enemy forces shoot their arrows, the soldiers stand together in formation with their door like shields held tightly ,forming a barrier all around them, in front of them and above them. That’s the precise image of our faith as a shield. We are protected, but not only protected, we are enabled to move forward even while under attack.

In this formation with their shields fully protecting them on all sides, the army wouldn’t just crouch and endure the attack, they would MOVE FORWARD. Forward towards the objective. Forward towards the goal. Forward towards their mission. Forward, even while the enemy attacked.

This is the power of our shield of faith.

Now, what bout those arrows? Paul says the devil shoots “fiery arrows” at us. Soldiers in these days would often dip their arrows into a flammable liquid, then light them on fire before launching them at their enemy like a missile. AND THAT IS SATAN’S STRATEGY AGAINST US. Fiery, blazing arrows. His objective is to destroy you and he’ll use every single thing at his disposal to do so. Don’t be so naive to think he won’t come after you. Scripture says he’s “like a roaring lion”, and honey, lions don’t care if you’re cute, they don’t care if you’re happy, they don’t care if you’re rich, they don’t care if you’ve got a whole family depending on you … lions want to kill you. Period.

You have been under attack. No doubt, it’s been happening. Even just this past week, fiery arrows were flying at you. Let me help you identify them:

Arrow 1: Tempt you to sin
Arrow 2: Get you to ignore the things that would help you
Arrow 3: Make you miserable
Arrow 4: Make you doubt
Arrow 5: Make you settle

Remember when you just ignored praying about it? Yip – that was an arrow.
Remember when you didn’t make time to open your Bible? Yip – that was an arrow.
Remember when you thought it wasn’t a big deal and you could hide it? Yip – that was an arrow.
Remember when you felt so tired, so defeated and so discouraged that you just sat there? Yip – that was an arrow.
Remember when you checked the box but didn’t really give it your best? Yip – that was an arrow.
Remember when you knew you should, but you didn’t – Yip that was an arrow.
Remember when you felt guilt and shame over it – Yip that was an arrow.

Not to mention all the things you’ve been dealing with that make you scared, make you hurt, and make you question – All arrows.

Now do you see the attacks you are continually facing? This is your every day reality. Girl, you are always under attack. That’s why you need this shield of faith.

To put it quite simply, the way you defend yourself from Satan’s attacks is on a very practical level TRUST WHAT’S TRUE ABOUT GOD. Faith isn’t just hearing about God – Faith isn’t even just knowing about God – Faith is actively positioning God’s promises between your vulnerability and the enemy’s fiery assaults.

The devil is going to shoot his fiery arrows to tempt you, distract you, discourage you, detour you and defeat you, but that big ol’ shield of faith in God’s promises is what you actively pick up and hold up to protect you.

I know my God. I know his ways. I feel his presence. I receive his strength. I believe his promises. I trust my God.

My sister, that is your defense!
Faith is what will protect you when the fiery arrows are coming at you. Faith is what will help you advance even when you’re under attack. Faith is not optional for this battle, it is essential!

So really, what is faith? What a really hard thing to describe. If we’re not careful, faith becomes nothing more than hoping or wishing. You know when you apply for a job and you’r pretty sure you’re not going to get it because you’re not even remotely qualified for it and someone says, “Well, you’ve got to have faith.” No, that’s not faith. That’s not what our Bible is talking about. That kind of faith is not a defense. When you’re under attack, just wishing that something is true will never give you the defense you need.

Let’s give faith a real definition. I read about a missionary named John Paton – someone you’ve likely never heard of before. He was a Scottish missionary who went to the islands of the South Pacific in the 1800’s to tell these remote people about Jesus for the first time. He wasn’t welcome there. His wife and child died. Yet, he continued. He learned their language, then he set out to translate the entire Bible into their language so they could know about Jesus.
While translating scripture, he got to Ephesians chapter 6 and he was stuck on verse 16, “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Their language had no word for faith. Faith was non-existent in their world, without even a word for it.

As John sat in his island hut, stuck on translating this word “faith”, a local man came running and and flopped himself in a chair. He said to John, “It’s just so good to rest my whole weight in this chair.” And that’s when John knew – that’s what faith is. This is how he could explain faith to the islanders. Faith is resting your whole weight on God.

With that translation, the islanders understood faith and they came to put their whole weight on God through Jesus.

Faith is putting your whole weight on God. If God said it, then it’s true, and I believe it. That is faith.

Faith is believing what Jesus has done for us, believing what God says about us, and living it out because it’s THE truth. That’s a shield of faith. Protected from the attacks of the enemy and able to advance!

Through the Bible, we know:
• God has chosen us. Before this world even began, he predestined that we would be his girls. He chose us first, gave us the family name, and bestowed upon us all the privileges of being his daughters.
• God has blessed us. In everything that God has done for us, his intention is to bless us and give us what we don’t deserve.
• God has sealed us. He put his mark on us saying we belong to him and we’re protected by him.
• God has promised us an inheritance. We are in line to inherit the kingdom of God and eternal life. Through Jesus, it’s our guaranteed destiny. Girl, that’s where you’re heading and today you’re one day closer!

God has held absolutely nothing back from you. He’s given his all, he’s given his best. He’s actively taking everything in your life and making it work together for eternally good purposes. And when you put your whole weight on that, you will be able to survive the attacks of the evil one. Not only survive, but advance!

When the fiery arrows come flying at you, and they always do – When you’re tempted to doubt, leaning towards fear, hurting and questioning, avoiding the very things that will help you most, wandering down paths not meant for you and knocking on the wrong doors – STOP AND REMEMBER WHAT YOU KNOW OF GOD. Remember his promises for you. Remember what he’s already done for you through Jesus. But don’t just think about those things, LIFT THEM UP. Lift up that shield of faith by actually leaning into what you KNOW IS TRUE ABOUT GOD. Put your full weight on him.
You know what you need to do in that moment of wandering, wallowing, wondering and wavering … you need to have a good talk with yourself. Listen here, self, stop this depressed, unhappy nonsense. Stop this wavering. Stop this delaying. Stop wallowing. You stop it now. Stop letting this steal your praise. Stop letting this distance you from Jesus. Stop it. Put your full weight on God. Remember his promises. Lean on them now!

It’s not going to be easy, but we all need to do this. We need each other to do it for us.
Preach to yourself. Remind yourself of God. Arrange your life so that you’re in the path of grace as much as possible — reading Scripture daily, praying, surrounding yourself with the right people. Know where you’re vulnerable. Look to God, who will grant you the strength that you need. Then put your whole weight in what we know to be true about God.

Remember the Roman shield formation? It’s one thing to be a single soldier with a shield. Something much better happens when we come together with faith. As we create a shield-wall of faith, we’ll be able to advance even when we’re under attack. That’s why you and I are connected. That’s why God has given us an Army of sisters here. We fully put our weight on God in this together and we move forward even while under attack.