Picking up the Shield

Ephesians 6:10-17

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.

    We come to our fourth piece of armor, the shield of faith.  This isn’t talking about faith in the way of doctrine but more about our faith in God.  The word translated faith refers to faith, belief, trust, confidence, fidelity and faithfulness.  This week we will be talking about how our faith in God protects us from the attacks of the enemy.

    This is the first item we aren’t wearing, which means we need to be even more intentional about making sure we are taking this piece into battle with us.  The other pieces come along for the ride but we have to be intentional about picking this one up and carrying it with us.  This means we have to be taking great care to keep it with us at all times.

    Faith in God isn’t just something we decide to have one day and then go on with our lives.  It is a moment by moment decision which we make even if we don’t actually choose.  While that may seem like a crazy thing to say it is true that if we aren’t intentional about choosing to place our faith in Him, we are in essence choosing not to have faith in Him.

    Our faith in God must show itself in every area of our lives.  We can’t say we have faith in God when we are in church on Sunday and then not have the faith in Him on Monday morning to help us through a hard day at work.  We never know when and where the enemy is going to attack and so we need to make sure we are carrying the shield of faith at all times.

    Having that kind of trust in the Lord helps us through the battles of life in every part of our lives.  God isn’t just someone to trust in our spiritual life but in all areas of our lives.  Face it, if we are Christians, all of our life should be seen in the spiritual view.  This is why this piece of armor is so important, it should help us see the significance of our focusing on life as spiritual instead of being so focused on the physical.  So let’s learn about taking up our shield.

Making It Personal

    How would you explain your faith in God?  How does your faith affect your thinking about the day to day troubles of life?  Where do you need to have more faith in your life?

Making It Personal Kids

    Why is it important to have faith in God in every area of your life?  How can you know you have true faith in Him?  In what area of your life do you need to have more faith in Him?

Closing Prayer

    Father, we confess our faith in You isn’t always as strong as it should be.  Help us come to trust You in every situation.  In Jesus’ name, amen.