Above All Take Up the Shield of Faith
With God as our shield of faith, we have nothing to fear. The adversary can’t get to us without first going through God.
The Wilderness
When in the wilderness, the children of Israel became fearful several times even after great miracles of God protecting them and sustaining them. They proclaimed they were better off in Egypt in bondage. God became angry with them and said He would destroy them and start again. Moses appealed to God to not go against His character. He told God to not do anything to cause their enemies to misunderstand His character.
The 12 Spies
A similar event took place in the book of Numbers when 12 spies were sent to spy on Canaan to prepare for entering as God had promised. Only two, Caleb and Joshua, reported using faith in what God had told them rather than great fear as the remaining spies reported. Joshua and Caleb know the Lord would go before them as their shield. Joshua and Caleb trusted in God that He would be their shield if they would follow Him.
Caleb and Joshua were allowed to enter the promised land of Canaan because they depended on the shield of faith in God. Caleb battled the fiercest and strongest opponents at the age of 80. He was victorious because God was on his side. Caleb walked by faith in the strength of God. His armor was complete with a shield of faith.
The Armor
Ephesians 6:14-17 lists the whole armor of God that will able you to withstand evil. We’re instructed to not be uninformed about the schemes of the enemy. We must not be unprepared of how the enemy works against us. These verses tell of a belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, a shield of faith, a helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
The Shield
One shield used by first century soldiers was large and planted in the ground large enough to crouch behind. The shield becomes the first line of defense. For the Christian, we must be able to defend against rulers of the darkness of this world. Above all take the shield of faith to protect against the fiery darts of the enemy of the world.
The shields of old would be drenched in water to quench the darts of fire used by armies of those times. Hebrews 11:33-34 says faith will quench the violence of fire. Psalm 91:5 tells us to not be afraid of the arrow that flies at us. An enemy has to get through the shield to get to the soldier. With God as our shield what do we have to fear?