TAKING UP THE SHIELD
Ephesians 6:13 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
Hunting wild hogs in winter months is a great past time for many hunters. Deer season is over and spring turkey season is a ways off yet. It's good to have an escape to the woods and hogs are a good interlude. I've hunted them many times around the country and I've not only enjoyed the hunt, but the wild pork is a great reward.
Skinning a mature wild boar (male pig) is an unusual challenge that I've never seen from any other animal. Covering both sides of the ribcage of these beasts is a thick, grisly plate of an almost impenetrable shield. Some older boars can have a shield of over 1" thick. This shield is there to protect the boar from the vicious attacks of other boars with razor sharp teeth that can rip open softer flesh. It is almost impossible to penetrate and it protects the heart and many other organs from attack.
When we read about the armor of God in Ephesians 6, the forth piece of armor is the "shield of faith" in verse 16.
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)
Satan wants to see anything and everything of God destroyed. He has waged battle against God and His people. When the men and women of God stand up, Satan will certainly come against them. But God has provided a shield. And that shield is "faith". Not faith in people... eventually, people will let us down. But faith in God and His work for us. With that faith we can withstand any attacks the enemy can bring against us.
We must understand the importance of knowing that doubt, fear and anxiety are attacks from satan and his army. Holding to the shield of faith will protect us and allow us to fight back against the attacks of our worst enemy.
But we too have an army... the army of the family of God. As the body of Christ, we can go to battle against the attacks that come against our brothers and sisters and in doing so, we grow stronger in our faith by living in community.
It Is important that you and I apply the concept of the shield of faith to our lives. We must realize that when we put our faith in Christ, and what He bas done for us, we are unstoppable.
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