“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”
~Ephesians 6:16
Recently, our church had Kevin Ezell, President of the North American Mission Board, as a guest speaker on Sunday morning. He read the above verse from Ephesians and pointed out that our shield of faith is not to defend ourselves against arrows or swords, but flaming darts. Tiny, flaming darts.
I don’t know about you, but I had never really thought about that before. We have all probably seen some kind of knight movie where they use shields to defend themselves in battle. Battles against flying arrows, flaming arrows, and swords of other knights. But DARTS?! All I kept thinking about were the darts that my dad had when I was growing up so he could participate in the lunch-time tournaments at work.
But, to be honest, the more I have thought about this since Mr. Ezell spoke, the more it hits home with me. Darts - tiny - just enough for a pinhole - that is really all it takes for Satan to weasel his way into our minds, hearts, and spirits. I know for me, he LOVES to make me doubt my self worth. Just a tiny dart is all it takes to send me into a downward spiral of depression and darkness. Satan also likes to attack my mind by making me question my friendships and other relationships. He wants me to feel alone - and not only doubt people, but God’s love for me.
God does NOT want that for me - He has equipped me with a shield of faith! Even if some days all I do is use that shield to duck and cover, it is better to USE the shield than to let the darts of Satan hit me like a million tiny missiles. We are given the shield to enter into the daily battle - protecting us from the darts of Satan so we can fill our hearts and minds with the Truth of God’s Word.
And what is even better?! God says that shield of faith with EXTINGUISH those flaming darts - not make them bounce off and the fire can ignite the ground and still get to me. The shield will make the doubts that Satan tries to get into my mind go up in smoke! I don’t know about you, but that sounds like Victory in Jesus to me!!
I don’t always remember this amazing truth, but I am learning every day that I have to be very observant, guard my heart and mind, and use the tools that God has equipped me with to defend against the daily darts that come against me!
