Armor of God - Part 4

Welcome back, thanks for taking the time to join me in delving into His word today! I thank you Lord for being patient with me as I've whined about this "assignment". I'm learning so much from this book of yours, one I've neglected, fumbled, yawned, and again whined over many times. If slow and steady wins the race, I guess I'm heading in the right direction. Through one discovery at a time, I'm falling head over heals in love with the brilliant Author.

Okay, to review Ephesians 6, we've looked at our armor being the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and our feet fitted with readiness. Let's look at 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.

A note in my study bible states that this passage describes the large Roman shield covered with leather, which could be soaked in water and used to put out flame-tipped arrows. Has anyone thrown a flamed-tipped arrow at you lately? Maybe not in the literal sense, but how about a flaming shot of hurtful words, scorching silence, or even written words that have still left a trail of fiery debris on your heart? Maybe these arrows aren't from a person, maybe they are a thought. A thought that leads to more thoughts, and more and more, leaving a devastating wake of ashes in it's path (you don't notice it though because it's behind you). Who do you think is the source of these thoughts? Perhaps yourself, or perhaps, the liar himself is speaking, even convincing you that indeed you are rightly justified in your conclusions and have every bit of ground to stand on in your own independent and self-sufficient way. But let me ask you... where does this leave you? How does this feel?

I hear a song on my ipod this morning by Chris Tomlin. The main chorus says, "If God is on our side, who can be against us..." In my search for the reference, I came across 260 verses that contain the words - who can be against us, wow, really. Here are just a few:

Deuteronomy 20:1 - When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.

Deuteronomy 20:4 - For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

Deuteronomy 28:7 - The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

1 Samuel 2:25 - If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?

1 Samuel 17:45 - David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

How amazing to be able to bank on the fact that God has our back. I'll take those odds any day! Just remind me in my stubbornness or my self-pity state that he does, in fact, give me that shield. It does me no good if I don't actually pick it up. Thanks for the reminder Lord. Just two more items to look at, next in the helmet of salvation. Until then, don't forget to pick up your shield today!