Shield of Faith

The Shield of Faith is part of the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10-20 by Apostle Paul to the Church at Ephesus. This is a spiritual armour which gives us an illustration of how our faith need to be rooted in Christ. Faith does not operate by looking at ourselves, but rather it operates when we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ by resting in His Grace. The Bible says:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" - Romans 10:17

Faith doesn't come by hearing motivational speeches, or man's words. The Bible is very clear when it says faith comes whenever we hear God's Word being preached. It is very interesting to note that the Bible calls faith as a shield, which can be used to quench the fiery darts of the wicked:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" - Ephesians 6:16

The word "quench" is associated with water. God's Word is living water that can quench the fiery darts of the wicked. If we are low on faith, then we are walking around with a broken shield, therefore we need to spend time reading and listening to God's Word. The more time we spend listening to Christ centered sermons, where the Jesus of the Bible is being expounded and preached, the stronger our faith gets. For this reason the Bible says:

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" - Romans 10:14

Faith keeps us from being distracted and helps us to continue walking in God's will. Our Lord Jesus has always complimented people for their faith and has emphasized on the importance of ones faith. We can see in Matthew 9, where the woman who had been suffering with the issue of blood for over 12 years, was healed by touching the hem of Jesus's garment. As per the law of Moses, such a woman is entitled to be stoned to death if seen in public, as stated in Leviticus 15, because she was ceremonially unclean. I'm sure satan must have shot thoughts into her mind like fiery darts, confronting her that she was breaking the law. Even though she was breaking the law of Moses, and was risking her life to be in public, she knew in her heart that the Lord wants her well, and that she was walking in God's will, as she was being compelled by the love of Christ to touch the hem of His garment by faith. She was aware that sickness is not part of God's plan for her, and that the Lord wants her healed, which is why Jesus had come. The reason she was in sync with God's will is because she knew the scriptures well. The Jews are educated with the Tanakh (Hebrew - Old Testament) right from their childhood, which is why she was able to comprehend Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Our Lord Jesus did not rebuke her for breaking the law of Moses, but instead He said:

"...Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour" - Matthew 9:22

The reason our Lord Jesus did not rebuke her was because, she was walking in God's will, where God's glory would be revealed through her healing. Also, our Lord never said "my power has made you whole", even though it was His power, or "my Grace has made you whole", even though it was by Grace, but rather He said "your faith has made you whole" because it is through faith that we have access to the Lord's Grace. People of the world would always reason saying, "you are sick because of your sins". When Jesus's disciples saw a blind man and asked the Lord whether this man is blind because of his sins or his parents sins? Jesus replied to them saying:

"...Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" - John 9:3

In Matthew 17, the disciples of Christ themselves were not able to cast out a demon from a demon possessed man. Our Lord Jesus explained to them saying that they were not able to do so because of their lack of faith. Our Lord always points to the root of the problem, which is why He did not point to their good works, which is the fruit of the faith, but rather to their lack of faith, which is the root. Further when the disciples asked Him to increase their faith, the Lord replied saying:

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" - Matthew 17:20

It is interesting to note that even though our Lord Jesus compared faith to a mustard seed, He still showed faith to act as a shield. This is because, wild mustard spreads quickly, densely covering the surrounding area. In other words, faith rooted in God's Word grows and spreads quickly. Due to its traits, it greatly supresses weeds from growing, meaning, faith helps in descerning God's will. It germinates during the cool season. In other words, the more we depend and rest in Christ's Grace and not worry, the more our faith grows. It flourishes in fertile soil and grows rapidly. This is in relation to the parable of the sower that is explained here in my article. Within 4-5 weeks, the plant covers the ground. The Bible says:

"...his truth shall be thy shield and buckler" - Psalms 91:4

Psalms 91 is a well known prayer of protection, where verse 4 illustrates faith in God's Word, which is the truth, to be a shield and a buckler. A buckler is a smaller shield, basically verse 4 is illustrating double protection. The reason satan would sink to any level in order to discourage us from reading the Bible, and spending time in God's Word is because satan knows, that as believers in Christ, when we walk by faith in God's Word, we are shielded by the Lord from any kind of attack from the wicked.