Day 7
Ephesians 6:16 NIV
"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
Every plan, every intent of the enemy will fail. He will not achieve his goals. It may appear he has won - just like it appeared he won at Calvary. However, what appeared to be a victory for him actually turned out to be a major defeat.
The shield of faith is the faith of God we use to protect ourselves from the attacks of the enemy, which are intended to injure us. The faith of God is based on the Word of God. Therefore, we can only use this faith when we have "Word" connected with it. If God says, "they will persecute you," then faith cannot quench that. Faith does not go contrary to God's word. However, faith can be used to overcome the persecution and win, because God's Word says in all these things we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:35-37). So, although faith cannot stop persecution and other things we are told we will experience, faith is still active in the midst of those circumstances to make us ultimately victorious.
Paul and Silas were persecuted, but through their suffering, God wrought a mighty miracle. He not only delivered them from jail and gave them safe passage to their next destination, but he also caused the jailer and his household to be saved. (Who knows how many lives were affected as the jailer continued to tell his story of conversion?) The bottom line is, whether we are persecuted or not, all attempts of the enemy to defeat us will fail as we walk by faith - as we employ our faith as a shield.
With my shield of faith, I put out the fire of every dart, or arrow, the devil shoots at me, and I am consequently unharmed. Every plan of the enemy against me fails.