Devotional #18: The Full Armor of God- The Shield of Faith
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes… take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
-Ephesians 6: 11,16 (NIV).
In Ephesians Chapter 6, Paul instructs us that to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16 (NIV). Paul’s instruction first begs the question, “what is faith?” We can find this answer in Hebrews: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV).
For a person battling cancer, or another serious illness, we hope for healing, and long for an assurance about what we do not see—how God will accomplish our healing. The shield of faith is necessary to “extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Cancer patients and those similarly situated, often face many obstacles—flaming arrows—in addition to needing healing. The evil one, who is the devil, certainly likes to hit you when you are down. When you are battling illness or cancer, you are exerting all your energy on preserving your health; yet the evil one, will often attack when you are at your weakness. The flaming arrows in your life may be financial troubles, health insurance issues, relationship problems, and even lesser stressors such as lost keys, etc.
Looking back at my own cancer experience, the evil one launched many arrows at me: issues getting my health insurance covered, financial struggles, constant reminders of past wrongs and pain others had perpetrated on me, to name a few.
One week in particular, the evil one through a flaming arrow in the form of threatening to remove my transportation. My mother had been using my Honda Civic to drive me to my daily radiation appointments. Being able to maintain my car payments was essential, but I had been unable to work, and my savings were quickly being depleted due to medical expenses. I needed to continue my payments on my car loan. Additionally, I had an unexpected $3,000 medical bill that was causing me significant stress. To make matters worse, around this time I had been wrongfully rejected by a short term and long-term disability policy due to a miscommunication by a third party.
I had communicated with many D.C. connections that I had known that could easily cover the cost of my medical bill, and I asked a nonprofit which I had donated exactly $3,000 the previous year to return my donations. Every single plea was rejected. Every one. Just when I thought it could not get worse, one of the notorious North Texas hailstorms hit my community and totaled the car that we so desperately needed. I certainly struggled to hold up my shield of faith, which felt particularly heavy at that time. I simply could not see a way out. In desperation, I prayed, and God told me to just be still and have faith that He would take care of me. So, I left my problems the alter of God. I didn’t realize it at the time, but God was teaching me to exercise my faith by having an assurance about something I could not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV).
This response is Biblical. Scripture tells us:
· “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).
· “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10 (NIV).
If you believe you are living in a “when it rains it pours” situation, you are likely correct. The evil one loves to attack when you are most vulnerable—this is why the saying “when it rains it pours” so often proves true in the lives and circumstances of many. I know that the stressors I faced were not unique to me, but are faced by many of those who are battling cancer and other serious illnesses.
Recognizing this problem, we have to hold our shield of faith, even in times when the shield feels very heavy and we feel very weak. Christ will help us do this. Scripture tells us that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17 (NIV). Spending time reading the Bible and listening to what Christ might say to you is essential to building your faith.
Sometimes this means completely letting go of your problems and giving them to Christ. Early into my diagnosis my good friend Troy shared a piece of wisdom. He told me he had a file in his office entitled “God’s Problems,” and that when a problem appeared too overwhelming, he would pray and file it away under “God’s Problems.” Troy said that he has been amazed at how God has taken care of those problems throughout the years. Troy provided me an example of living the Bible’s definition of faith: “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV). While I do not have a literal file for “God’s Problems,” I file many problems of various levels as “God’s Problems” in my mind. Frankly, I’m not sure that I would have made it these past years if I had not done this. And, like Troy, I have been amazed at how holding up the shield of faith as resolved many of the problems I faced.
Because of His mercy and grace, God took my problems upon Himself. An appeal of the short term and long-term disability claim as ruled in my favor and provided me critical money needed for my daily life of not being able to work and medical expenses.
As for my car, God took a hailstorm and turned it into a blessing. Even though my car was totaled, it still ran—it just looked like a golf ball. Because it was totaled, my insurance paid off my car loan. Miraculously, the insurance also repaid me for the excess that I had already paid into my car loan. Astonishingly, that amount was $3,000-the exact amount I needed for my surprise medical bill. My dad worked with my insurance on my behalf, so I did not have to lift a finger for this blessing.
The situation became even more amazing when people I had not thought to approach for help with my finances stepped in to fill the gaps left by my rejected requests. One remarkable man, Tom, who leads a pro-life nonprofit ministry ran a fundraising campaign for me which resulted in my receiving enough funding to cover my expensive COBRA premium payments and my out-of-pocket medical expenses for years. Once that funding started to be depleted, another leader of a pro-life nonprofit, Peggy, contacted me to connect me with a foundation that provided me significant financial support for three years. Again, I received these blessings with little effort on my part.
Putting this in the context of the biblical definition of Faith, I needed confidence in what I hoped for (which was resolution of my problems) and an assurance of what I could not see (how God would resolve my problems). This took significant prayer at my weakest moments. It took the prayers of others. It took people like my dad, Troy, Tom, and Peggy to exercise their wisdom and compassion, as followers of Christ, to help me. Looking back now, I am utterly amazed at how God deflected the flaming arrows of the evil away from me. Not only this, He also blessed me abundantly in ways I could not see in the midst of crisis.
I cannot possibly attribute to these miraculous events and blessings to anything but God Himself. The manner in which these problems were resolved, with virtually no effort on my part truly attests to the majesty of Christ. Blessed be His Name.
For Additional Study & Discussion
1. Can you think of a time when the evil one was throwing flaming arrows your way? How did you respond? Would you change your response if faced with the same circumstance today? Why or why not?
2. In Hebrews 11, scripture lists 17 specific examples of Old Testament men and women who exercised faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses’ parents, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtah, David and Samuel. Select one person and read the account of their faith in the Old Testament. How did his/her actions reflect what we know about faith, as it is defined in the New Testament?
3. Looking back on the previous question. How can we, living in today’s world, exercise the same faith as the person you selected?