Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
[Rev. Dwight Yoo]
The shield provides overall protection.
How the Shield of Faith protects.
The enemy attacks us in two ways:
Attacks of Enticement
Satan wants us to place our satisfaction in money, hobbies, food, our family, our job... everything but God. All these things are good things and they are not inherently sinful. The problem comes when they become the ultimate thing. Say our job becomes where we get our ultimate satisfaction... we will become insecure. Because our worth, our joy is tied to our performance at work. We become jealous of co-workers that may be doing a better job than us. We get a bad performance review and we are crushed.
Faith gives us a long-term view, exposing short-term quality of sinful gratification and its consequences.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. - Hebrews 11:24-26
Faith pursues the greater pleasure, treasure, and satisfaction that we have in Christ
We do not always experience the pleasure, joy, & satisfaction in Christ. So very often we chase more immediate, but fleeting pleasure.
Attacks of Fear
When the devil attacks us in this way, he is trying to provoke us to the following:
Atheism - We start wondering if God even exists...
Blasphemy - We think God is not good. Or he is unjust....
Despair - We lose hope. We consider ourselves failures.
Faith recognizes the limits of reason and clings only to what God says about himself.
Faith takes hold of promises because Faith sees the trustworthiness of the Promiser.
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