The Shield of Faith
Living By Faith

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”—Ephesians 6:16-

“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”—I Thessalonians 5:8-

  The Shield of Faith quenches or extinguishes all of the fiery darts from the enemy. To  best understand what “faith” means, let us consider these definitions: (1) the Greek word for faith in the verses is Pistis, which means “Convictions of the truth of anything believed.  In the NT, a conviction or belief, respecting man’s  relationship  to  God  and  divine things  generally included the idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it” (2) Hebrews 11:1 provides further insight on the meaning of faith: “Now faith is the substances of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Putting these definitions together in practical terms, faith in God is:

(1) Trusting in God’s Word as truth

(2) Trusting that God will protect us from the evil one.

(3) Trusting God is with us and lives in us, even thought we may not see Him.

(4) Believing that Jesus’ sacrifice paid the penalty for our sin, reconciling us to God.

(5)  Believing that through faith we have Jesus’ authority over evil powers. In our human weakness, we may find it difficult to fully trust and believe God in the above ways. Since God is the author, “perfecter” and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2), we can and should ask Him for the completion of our faith. When we believe in something, our belief gives it power to manifest itself in our lives. Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
    Do you believe that?  We must  believe God’s Word and not believe the devil’s lies.  If we believe the devil’s lies, we are putting faith into them and opening a door for the devil to influence us.  This is “negative faith” and the irony of it that we give it power through our belief in the lies.
     Maintain daily intake of God’s Word in your quiet time. Use God’s Word to destroy the incoming lies of the devil (John 8:31-32) and the temptations you face.