In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.
Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:16-18 HCSB

There are days when I wake up and I’m having a great day. But then I have to go out into the world. Most of us have to get out there and get involved with other people. This is where it can get dangerous.

Fortunately, for us Christians, God provides protective gear for that. God knows we are soldiers in His army. He knows each and every day we may face a spiritual battle. He provides the gear we need to stay safe from harm. We discussed some of that gear yesterday. Today we wrap it up by discussing the last four pieces of armor.

We begin in verse 16 which says. “In every situation take the shield of faith and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” It doesn’t say you will stand a better chance, or you may be able to extinguish some of the flaming arrows. It says you will be able to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one. Remember, we said our faith helps us to obtain His righteousness. We know without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). But our faith is also an important part of our armor. It is the shield that protects us from the arrows. If you have ever come under attack, you know it seems like flaming arrows are zinging by, right? Our faith protects us from those. His faithfulness also acts as a shield. In Psalm 91, the psalmist says in verses 4-5, His faithfulness will be like a protective shield. You will not fear the terror of the night or the arrow that flies by day. We have no need to fear those flaming arrows as long we have our shield of faith in front of us. Never go anywhere without the shield of faith.

Then we are told to take the helmet of Salvation. A helmet protects the soldier’s head from injury. Our salvation is like a helmet that protects us from the evil that tries to infiltrate our thoughts and our minds. We must always wear the helmet of Salvation to protect our heads, our brains and our minds from the attack of the devil.

And finally, we get to the offensive weapon. Here Paul reminds us to always carry the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word. My friend, there is no situation you will ever face that is not covered in God’s holy word. Whatever we may face I can assure you some poor soul in the Bible has been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Truth is many in the Bible have gone through much worse situations than we will ever face. Their stories give us hope. A knowledge of God’s word gives us the ability to fight against the devil. Don’t be afraid to swing that sword. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-17, each time Jesus responded with, “It is written…”  Jesus responded by quoting the Bible to the devil. As a friend put it, “I’ve got my sword and I’m not afraid to swing it.” I have had situations where I could have argued with someone, but I simply quoted Scripture. That stopped the conversation and both times had the person apologizing for what they had said. They came to me for an argument. I gave them Scripture. It was a win/win situation.

Last but not least, Paul tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request and stay alert in all this with perseverance and intercession for all the saints. My friend, prayer changes things. We are told in James 5:16 to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, so that we may be healed as the urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. Never fail to pray.

As soldiers in Christ’s army, we must always be prepared for battle. God provides all the gear we need for protection, but we must put it on. It’s up to us to suit up and be prepared. God issues this protective gear. I urge you to wear it at all times. Don’t leave home without it.

Have a great day!