Shielded

Being protected is one of the core needs we have as humanity. It gives us security and peace when we feel safe and when we have this, our ability to rest is made easier. Being Shielded is something everyone wants in more ways than one. We can thrive when we are Shielded in our marriages, friendships, church life, work life, and more. This is one of the core values inherent to us and this shouldn’t be underestimated. In fact, it’s good for us to be thankful when we have it in our lives.

Unfortunately too many people are not Shielded as a child and maybe even now as adults. This can lead to PTSD, anxieties, nervousness, fear, unresolved anger, abuse and more. This can be devastating as trust is broken and the sense of safety is lost. It seems more and more adults and kids are facing this reality all over the world, which speaks to why being Shielded is huge for our faith and for our lives.

Did you know that God is our Shield?

The bible has a lot of verses of God being described as our shield. This speaks to Him being our protector in all areas of our lives. He delights in watching over us and because He never sleeps, He always keeping His eyes on us. How powerful!

His ability is limitless and with His angelic army, He’s untouchable. The good news is, we are completely safe with Jesus! He has every detail and area covered in our lives; therefore, when we cast our cares onto Him, we’re free in peace and safety. This is a commodity that only He can give as He completes our spirit, soul and body. The totality of our lives are on His mind and His desire is to complete what He started through us.

Because of this we must remember, fear is a lie. It’s actually the opposite of the truth; therefore, we can face fear head on because we’re Shielded through Jesus.

Notice on of the promises we have in being Shielded.

“In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”

Ephesians 6:16

This is referencing the armor of God and how it’s for our daily lives. To be clear, we have a part to play in putting this armor on and walking out what we have through Christ. I believe this must be daily through a consistent lifestyle of prayer, reading the bible and being a part of a local church. These things strengthen our faith and remind us of what we have in Jesus. However, we have the armor of God because He gave it to us. It all comes from Him and when we think of the Shield of Faith, it’s because of Him. Without Jesus, we are not Shielded. Without Jesus, we don’t have faith. He’s the source of everything (see Colossians 1:15-20).

When I read about the Shield of Faith, what stands out to me is, it stops ALL the fiery arrows of the devil. Many versions of this verse say, ALL the fiery arrows. That means ALL! This speaks to being Shielded from anything he tries to throw at us, because nothing is too great for our God. What’s really cool is to understand what Paul was describing in this verse and the picture it gives us.

When Paul wrote this, the Romans were ruling the known world. Their dominance was evident so their culture and way of life was sprinkled everywhere. This included weapons of war and how they fought. The Romans had a certain Shield they would use for soldiers who were fighting on the front lines in hand to hand combat. This shield had a few distinct aspects that made it different than any other shield.

First, it was three to four feet wide and at least six feet tall. This made it so it completely covered the man carrying it. He could be fully Shielded from anything thrown at him, so much so, the enemy couldn’t see him at all. They only could see the shield.

Second, they would wrap this Shield with wet leather strips and this was strategic. These leather strips being wet would snuff out any fiery arrow shot at the soldiers. So not only were the soldiers completely Shielded, they were also protected from all of the fiery arrows that were attacking them.

Because of this Shield, these Roman soldiers were empowered to take more and more ground one step at a time and ultimately gain a foothold in the battle waged against them.

It’s this Shield Paul is talking about when he describes the Shield of Faith. Isn’t that awesome? Go ahead, you can go ahead and praise Jesus right now. How great is our God. He completely equips us for all that we need on a daily basis, so there’s nothing the enemy will throw at us, that He hasn’t provided something to stop it!

Notice, being Shielded means we’re covered by our faith in Jesus. It’s not our strength but His. It’s because of Him. The idea of us being Shielded is speaking to us laying down our way in exchange for His; therefore, we’re good being hidden behind Him. He is our faith. He is our strong tower. He is our everything and when the battle is raging, we’re completely Shielded through faith.

Another part of this is the Holy Spirit. The scriptures connect the Holy Spirit to water over and over again and this connects to us and being Shielded. When we allow our lives to be filled with the Holy Spirit, those fiery arrows are quenched through God’s power. Just like those ancient Roman shields with wet leather wrapped around it, we can be wrapped with the water of the Holy Spirit; therefore, ALL arrows are stopped through Him.

Who is Shielding you today?

I encourage you to let it be Jesus. With Him, you have all you need and there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The key is, get behind Him. Allow your faith in Him to completely cover you so it’s His power and His strength you walk in.

Let the Holy Spirit fill you more and more. Don’t hold back. Give Him everything and watch what happens next.

You’re Shielded and because of Him, the best is yet to come.

Have a great week and love you,
PD