The Shield of Faith

658- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 22:3, “The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. (2 Sam 22:2,3) David continues to give glory to God who has given him victory over all his enemies. He calls God “his shield,” this word is used to describe the scaly and impenetrable armor of the alligator or crocodile. We need this armor because our enemy, the devil, continually bombards us with the darts of multiple distractions, trials, and temptations. This shield is like those shields you might see being used by riot police as they fend off rocks and other missiles hurled at them by the unruly crowd. Friend, never forget that every day you face an unruly crowd of the devil and his demons. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. You are engaged with an enemy who sole purpose is to seek to separate you from the love of God! We cannot afford to be nonchalant about this. David learned the hard way, when he neglected to use his shield and fell into sin with Bathsheba. Remember the goal of the devil is to separate you from God, and sin is the great separator. That's why the Holy Spirit tells us in Eph 6:16, “ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Did you catch the urgency associated with using this shield? “Above all taking!” The shield will do no good if you leave it laying on the ground. You must lift it up, put it into practice. That's what Jesus did when HE was tempted in the wilderness. He took up the shield of faith and responded to all the devil's temptations with “It is written!” God and His Word is your shield of faith! Use it whenever the devil would seek to draw you away from the love of Christ. Father, thank You for being my shield in my daily battles against the evil one. Help me to be quick to use it when the fiery darts of the evil one come my way.