Don’t Leave Home Without Your Shield

[God] raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Eph. 1:20-21)

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us and His resurrection from the dead, God elevated Christ to an all-powerful position at God’s right hand, now and for eternity.

Now, are you ready for the incredibly amazing part? According to the Bible, where is our standing with our Father God? Notice the incredible answer in the next chapter:

The Apostle Paul instructed us to put on “the full armor of God” in Ephesians 6:10-18 so that we can “stand against the devil’s schemes.” Paul’s description of the armor of God concludes with a final weapon, which is listed in verse 16:

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Eph. 6:16)

Why is faith our shield? Because of the critical role our faith has in enabling the favor and blessings of God in our lives:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb. 11:6)

This means a lack of faith isn’t simply an “error” or a “missed opportunity” as can be easy for us to view it… but rather a separating sin that blocks us from God. This is plainly stated in this scripture:

…everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Rom. 14:23)

Here are two supporting scriptures on faith:

For we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal. 5:6)

As we saw earlier, our faith is the shield that God requires us to use to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Because many flaming arrows from the evil one head our way every day, our faith should be sizeable enough and in use to extinguish them.

The more we make a point of using our faith in every aspect of our daily relationship with God, the more our faith will grow.

Don’t leave home without your shield! Be blessed today in the Name of Jesus.