February 22 I Friday

Numbers 3-4

Mark 3:20-35

The shield of faith is one of the most essential defenses we have both in difficult times and against satanic attack. Shields do not stop an attack, but they are designed to protect us in the midst of attack.

The Bible frequently speaks of a “shield” and “refuge” being the same thing. The Psalmists say of God, “He shields all who take refuge in Him” (18:30). “You are my refuge and my shield” (119:114). Scripture also talks about the Lord as our shield. “But You, LORD, are a shield around me” (3:3). “My shield is God Most High” (7:10). To Abraham, God said, “I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

As heavily burdened as we may be, when we trust God by taking up the shield of faith where He is our refuge, we will experience a tranquility of heart derived from God.
But how do we take up this shield? And what does it mean that taking up this shield will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one?

The actual exercise of faith in God is the shield which becomes our security. Hebrews 11 is a classic chapter on faith, which cites various examples of men and women who not only lived by faith but also died in their faith. The chapter begins, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2). Faith looks beyond the physical and material to God with a certainty that holds far more credibility than the physical and material world. We may believe living by faith always leads to recognized success, but that is not true of Scripture. Taking up the shield of faith does not mean God will get us out of our difficulties. It means bringing Him into our difficulties. That is where we find peace amidst the arrows of doubt: by trusting in the invisible presence and working of God.

Paul writes, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Sometimes we want to know more than God will tell us, but what we need to realize is that God knows everything about us, and our security is in the fact that His love, protection and purpose are all present in our battles and hardships. In our struggles against temptation, which is often the work of demonic forces, we raise our shield of faith, trusting beyond what is visible to the unseen God who loves us and protects us.

Prayer: Precious Lord, my faith in You is my shield, my protection, my refuge and my security. Thank You for Your presence in me. May my faith in You grow increasingly deeper and stronger.