Faith 22
As Paul draws to the end of that
matchless epistle, Ephesians, he discusses spiritual warfare and the equipment
that is necessary for us to use in such battles. He references our loins being
girt with truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, putting on the helmet of salvation,
and taking up the sword of the Bible. Amongst other things on this list, Paul
likens faith to a shield, particularly a shield that protects us from the
fiery darts of the wicked.
This idea – that we are to depend upon
God to protect us or that as we place our faith in Him He protects us – is found
elsewhere in Scripture. In him will I trust: He is my shield (II Samuel
22.3). He is a buckler to all them that trust in him (II Samuel 22.31). My God,
my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler (Psalm 18.2). The Lord is my
strength and shield; My heart trusted in him, and I am helped (Psalm 28.7). Three
times in consecutive verses the psalmist wrote, Trust thou in the Lord: He
is their help and shield (Psalm 115.9-11). My shield, and he in whom I trust
(Psalm 144.2). He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him (Proverbs
30.5). There are at least ten specific times when Scripture says faith in
God is a shield for us.
Before we delve into what that means
let us briefly examine what it does not mean. Faith in God is not a magic force
field that keeps anything bad from happening to me. Such a position is nothing
more than the prosperity gospel, a “gospel” that guarantees you health, wealth,
and happiness. To the contrary, sometimes it is God’s will for you to undergo
periods of testing, the trial of your faith, Peter called it. After all,
what would faith be if everything always went well and made sense? Job said it
so well when he wrote, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him (Job
13.15). Job had faith in God, and yet he had no money, no health, and a bad
marriage to boot. No, faith does not guarantee us that everything will always
go smoothly in this life.
To establish what the shield of faith is I
think it is helpful to clarify what the darts are that Paul references here,
for the shield of faith protects us from these. By definition, darts appear
suddenly. Darts usually come from unexpected places. Darts pierce. They penetrate
and torment beyond the immediate vicinity i.e. poisoned darts. Sometimes, they
even set things on fire.
There are two primary kinds of these unexpected, vicious, sudden, fiery darts. The first is temptation. For example, look at the perverted triangle of Jacob, Rachel, and Bilhah.
Genesis 30:1–4 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
While it can be argued that Rachel’s
sin here is premeditated, Jacob’s temptation struck suddenly. It was rooted in the
heat of a temper suddenly kindled toward Rachel. She offers her premeditated
solution; he quickly yields. What was this? An attack on the sanctity of
marriage and family, an attack that pierced Jacob’s defenses because he did not
have faith in God’s plan and God’s timing.
The word “kindled” is used most often
in the Word of God to describe wrath or anger. It refers to that which rises
with sudden heat and ferocity in our hearts. How does faith shield us from such
things as anger? Faith says, “What do I have to be angry about? My plans aren’t
being thwarted for my plans are God’s plans, and God is not thwarted. Thus,
neither am I.” Faith says, “What right do I have to be angry with someone for
their actions? They don’t answer to me; they answer to God. He will hold them
accountable. It is His courtroom and He is the judge.” Faith rests the timing
of events and the judgment on events securely in the Lord’s hands. Anger finds
no purchase there.
Can I confess something to you? I have
had a temper problem all of my life. Indeed, I lost my temper grievously with
one of my sons just the other day. But when I examine it I see that my temper
comes out when I do not get my way, when something I am trying hard to
accomplish seems to be failing, or when I think I am being disrespected or
ignored. Faith protects me from that. Faith says, “This is God’s business. This
is God’s plan. This is God’s will. This is God’s responsibility.” Faith says, “This
is a God problem not a me problem.” Thus faith shields me when the devil hurls
that sudden, unexpected fiery dart of temper my way. Faith keeps my wrath from
being kindled. Faith keeps the exponentially raging fire from swallowing up
hundreds of spiritual acres by preventing it from ever setting fire to anything
in the first place.
The second type of fiery dart is
trial. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which
is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you (I Peter 4.12). Suddenly,
unexpectedly, your world falls apart. Suddenly, unexpectedly, your husband
walks out, your doctor says it is cancer, you fall prey to abuse or crime. Your
fiery trial has commenced.
How does the shield of faith protect you from such darts? Faith says, “God knew this ahead of time. God is doing this for His glory. God is doing this for my purging, for my growth. God is doing this so I may comfort others.” Faith constantly points the soul toward God. It reaches out desperately, urgently, immediately and lays hold on God for all it is worth. And in that reaching out for God, in that precipitous headlong rush for the throne of grace we find glorious protection.
If you want to quit on God the devil
will happily furnish you the excuse. Faith says, “My God is too good to be
unkind and too wise to make mistakes.” Faith says, “I trust that God knows what
He is doing.” Faith sweeps that fiery dart aside and keeps charging hell with a
squirt gun. Faith says, “God is right, all the time. Now let us go forward in
serving Him.”
If anyone had the fiery darts of the
devil hurled at him it was Job. How did he handle it? Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in Him. Beloved, lift it up and hold it high, your shield of
faith. It is a tremendous gift of protection from Almighty God.
Trust Him. Just trust Him.
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