One of the many gifts that God has blessed us with is the armor of God. While there have been many commentaries and thoughts on the armor of God, we will focus on one simple question after we review the Scriptures.

In Ephesians 6:10 to 6:18, we read,  ^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Each piece of the armor is critical, the helmet of salvation we must wear on our heads to keep our minds focused on the fact that we are redeemed and belong to Jesus. The belt of truth is worn to keep our bodies tethered to the Word of God, the Truth. We put on the shoes that carry the peace of God, wherever we walk, we carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to a hurting and dying world. The breastplate of righteousness is us putting on the righteousness of Jesus, through His sacrifice and love, we are protected. We pick up the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God that must be thrust in the face of the enemy as lies are thrown at us every single day.

The last piece of armor is the shield of faith. When you visualize the shield, please do not picture a small round shield. These shields were massive pieces of military equipment. The shields were about two to three feet wide and three to four feet tall. They were able to protect the entire body of the soldier when they crouched behind them. The shields were designed to continue to protect the soldier and remain strong under heavy attack, including flaming arrows. When the soldiers lined up shoulder to shoulder and ‘connected’ their shields, an almost impenetrable wall was built to protect many at once.

Why do you think the shield of faith is the largest piece of armor? As the Scriptures say, the shield is to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Every single day, the enemy will hurl arrows at you – from all directions. The more you use that shield of faith to cover your entire body, the better protected you are. And, like the soldiers, when they were under heavy attack, they stood shoulder to shoulder and were even better protected with the shields lined up. If you are under heavy attack, seek out brothers and sisters in Christ to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Have them praying over you and for you. When you feel tired or beat up by the world, stand under their shield of faith, tell them the lies that the enemy is throwing your way and allow their shield of faith to protect you by speaking the Truth. As James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  

Let’s pray. Father in heaven please help us to put on the entire armor of God each and every day. Lord, help us to protect ourselves with the shield of faith. Remind us who we are in You. Help us to resist the devil by standing behind our shield and leaning into the faith of others when we need reinforcements. We praise You and thank You for Jesus. It is in His precious name we pray, amen.