Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

I never really thought of the testing that comes from the devil being in the form of flaming arrows. But the analogy is so true. Satan aims right for our hearts. He wants to break our faith in God. He wants to make us think that we cannot trust in our Lord because bad things are happening.

I used to think there might be one thing that would test my faith in the Lord, that would weaken or even break my "shield of faith." But I guess my shield has grown larger and is made of good material because I find myself feeling strong in Him. I have questions, sometimes a lot of them. And sometimes I just plain admit that I don't know what the Lord's plan is. Why does He let us go through hard things, things that even make us feel mad at Him? But my faith in Him is strong. I still believe He is the God He said He is in the Bible. I believe He loved me so much He gave His own Son for me, and who would do that, but someone of great character and love?

I believe that I have indeed, put out arrows sent from the evil one. And I also know that just because I am a Christian and I love God does not mean that my life will be peaches and cream. In fact, I think the opposite; I think the Lord gives/allows opportunities to grow our faith to those who can take being stretched. And so I wait for Him to show me my next move. And I keep preparing my shield for battle. I want to be ready when either the good or the bad happens. I want to show that my Lord has prepared me for battle; that His might power and His strength is alive in me.