Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Devotion based on Ephesians 6:16

“Snow day!” Nothing sends more excitement into a neighborhood than those two words. While snow days off school are intended to keep the children safe, for many children, those two words mean war as a neighborhood snowball fight can commence later in the day. After each side has built their fortresses and stockpiled their perfectly rounded snowballs for ammunition, the fighting begins. Armed with garbage can lids as shields, one troop advances on the other, trying to capture the flag in the other team’s fortress.

If only all wars were as harmless as a neighborhood snowball fight. When the devil advances into our fortress, he’s shooting something at us more dangerous than snowballs. The flaming arrows of the evil one may come in the form of doubts, guilt, fear, laziness, and much more. How do we fend off his attacks? What’s going to keep us safe?

Our first temptation may be to retreat. But he’s going to keep coming. Then, we may tend to look to ourselves. I’m faster. I’m bigger. I’m stronger. This may be true if you’re comparing yourself to the other neighborhood kids, but not when it comes to the devil. When I look to myself as I battle the devil, I see the cracks in my armor. I see the plodding feet. If I look to myself, I will fall. I will not stand firm.

But all is not lost. No matter how intense the enemy’s attack is, our Lord equips us with a shield of faith that is bigger and sturdier than any garbage can cover. We can completely hide behind the shield of faith. Why? Because faith is only as strong as the object in which it rests. And our faith rests on the One who defeated the devil. Our faith rests on the One who invaded the devil’s kingdom of the world and crushed his head. Our faith rests in Jesus. So, stand firm. Stand firm behind a shield of faith that relies on him.

Prayer: