The Full Armor of God - Shield of Faith

(Say it with me:)

Faith is believing the Word of God and acting on it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.

(If this definition is new to you, stop here and read it again. Slowly. Go ahead. We'll wait.)

The next item we are to have is the shield of faith. As you can see from our definition of faith, the shield is made of two materials - belief in the Word of God and action. We can then make the assumption that the fiery arrows being launched by our enemy are aimed at our mind (belief) and our choices (action), that's why we need this shield of protection.

Let's make this a bit more practical.

Spanking is not socially acceptable. No one does it anymore. We have evolved past that archaic practice and there is a much more humanitarian way to handle things, that keeps dignity in its proper place. Spanking is abusive and parents who spank face the possibility of legal action.

Same with submission. It's not socially acceptable either. Who has submissive roles in the home anymore? We have evolved way past keeping women barefoot and pregnant. Men and women have equal voice, equal roles and equal responsibilities in the home. Submission is abusive to the woman and men who insist on it should join the 21st century and take a good look at themselves.

Sound familiar? How do these two attacks affect your belief system? Given enough time, both of these arguments could change the way you handle things at home...if you are not firmly grounded in God's word.

Satan's attacks are directly at the Word of God. He loves to take a godly concept, twist it and appeal to the fallen minds of men. Why, he even tried to use scripture against Jesus Christ during a moment of weakness, but Jesus knew the Word better than Satan and it failed.

And in that statement you will find why our shield of defense against Satan is knowing the Word of God. Because God's Word is truth, we have to know it to protect our minds. Because sin has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, our minds are unable to separate truth from lies. We actually are drawn to lies because of sin, rather than being drawn to God.

At salvation, we are given the gift of faith, which is like giving a legally blind person a good set of reading glasses. For the first time in our lives we are able to know truth and to act on it. But we cannot rely on our own feelings and our own ability to discern right from wrong - we have to use the measure of God's Word, no matter how we feel, trusting that God's way is best.

So when Satan fires away at a biblical concept, the shield of faith stops his attacks by holding the Word up as our protection. If God's Word says it, then I believe it. Period. I don't have to understand it, I just have to act on it and leave the outcome in God's hands.

Now, imagine not knowing the Word...what defense do you have? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you have to know the Word to have a shield of defense. The more you know, the bigger that shield will be.

By the way, are you seeing a recurring theme among all of these armor items?