Never Ending Praise The Lord

Ephesians 6:16 NIV “In addition to all this,take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Let me ask you a question. How do you know when you’re in the midst of a spiritual attack vs. normal, every day life? This has been a question on my mind a lot as I’ve had a summer full of opposition.

I’ve been guilty of seeing everything around me as a spiritual attack, and often times it really is one. However, sometimes life is just what Jesus promised it would be: Trouble with a capital T. [John 16:33]

Life is messy, am I right? Maybe you have to wait for a long train when you’re already late, or perhaps you’ve blown a tire, broken your favorite dish. Or like me, you just didn’t get a job you felt called to, leading to confusion and a ton of questions. If you find yourself in a loop of lies, questioning your worth or worse yet, doubting God’s character, that is most likely the enemy at work.

So how do we know the difference and what do we do? The good news is, we don’t have to identify any of it. Not every battle is spiritual warfare, but every battle is spiritual. We can choose how to respond. Do we act out in anger, giving the enemy a stronghold? Or do we use the situation to respond in trust and obedience to God? If we choose the latter, the situation resolves quicker and peace follows.

This is why I really love the shield of faith.

Ephesians 6:14-15 goes over the armor we must always have as a foundation. The last few pieces of armor [Eph 6:16-18] will go over the armor we must take with us and always have ready to use. I think you’ll find every single piece of armor is worth having everyday.

Paul actually likens spiritual attacks to flaming arrows. In ancient warfare, these fiery weapons were launched in great numbers at the beginning of an attack. Not only did this injure the enemy but it caused mass confusion and created panic in him.

Likewise, Satan hurls deception, confusion, questioning and discouragement at us constantly. Luckily, we’re covered. We have a shield that covers our entire body from head to toe.

When you take up your shield of faith, you’re telling the enemy that God is bigger than anything that the enemy can do to you or throw at you.

The situation you’re facing may not be a spiritual attack, but the lie you’re tempted to believe because of the situation is! We may still see evidence of these flaming arrows in our hearts, but we can know with assurance that Jesus covers it.

So, take cover, tighten that belt over the breastplate of righteousness, and make sure you’ve got your shoes on.