Week 15: The Shield Part 1

I will have to admit, the idea for this devotion was not originally mine. My husband and I were talking one evening and he mentioned that the verse I am going to share in a moment had blessed him during his alone time with the Lord that day. So, I want to give him credit for sharing his blessing with me. I pray that it will go on to bless and encourage you as well. Then may we all bless and praise the Lord together for giving us His Word.

In Ephesians 6:10-17, we read the famous scriptures discussing the armour of God. There's the breastplate of righteousness and having your loins girted with truth in verse 14. There's the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace in verse 15, the shield of faith in verse 16, and the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit in verse 17.

Verses 10-13 list all the reasons why we Christians need to equip ourselves daily with this armour. It's not so we can combat people we encounter from day to day (although we may feel like some folks need a little Holy whipping every now and then), but it is so we can fight the devil and his army.

Look at verse 11. Here we are instructed to suit up so we can stand up against the wiles of the devil. Verse 12 further tells us that we don't war against flesh and blood (or rather physical, tangible people or things) but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness. It's not the things we can see and touch that can destroy us but the things we can't see and touch. Now don't get me wrong; many people have physically died at the hands of mankind because of their faith, but it was because of the things we can't see that the murderers became who they were. So, you can see why God instructs the believer to be ready for battle.

Now, back to the armour. The verse that really stood out to my husband was verse 16. It states, "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." My husband asked me if I had ever really noticed what the verse said. He said he circled the words "above all" and "quench all." You see, the shield of faith though not listed first in the verses was however listed as the most important item to have in battle. Why? Well one reason is because the Bible states in Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible to please God without faith. But why is it more important than the other items? Why is it introduced with "above all?" I think if we take a comparative look at each piece in relation to the shield, we will gain a better understanding of the shield of faith's significance.

So, starting this week and continuing for the next 2 to 4 weeks, we will discuss this all important battle suit we are to cover ourselves with daily. At the conclusion we will culminate with the shield of faith and why it's significance outweighs the other armour pieces.

The first item we read about is having our loins girt about with truth. On a soldier, this would have been the area around the hips and waist or better the pelvic area. During the time period of the Roman soldier, the purpose for girding up the lions was to give the soldier more mobility. So, a soldier would pull up his tunic between his legs and tie (gird) it around his waist. This kept him mobile and free from entanglement.

As Christians we are to tie up or gird truth around us so we do not become entangled with lies of the devil . Furthermore, when we are equipped in this fashion, we can more easily determine truth from falsehood as we try the spirits and determine whether they are of God or not (1 John 4:1). Remember we battle with unseen forces. Knowing and equipping ourselves with truth keeps us from becoming entangled in Satan's lies (which by the way he often presents as truth with a small twist...read the account of Eve and the serpent.)

Friend, we all need to ask God to help us daily prepare for battle. So, gird your loins with truth and you'll be ready when the devil shoots a lie your way.

References:
Stong's Concordance of Greek and Hebrew Lexicons, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Eph&c=6&v=14&t=KJV#14

Gird Your Loins With Truth, John. D. Cooper, http://www.realarmorofgod.com/gird-your-loins.html