Fiery Darts

Ephesians 6:16
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.


What can I say? Satan has been throwing some really hot, fiery darts at me in the past few weeks. When he realizes that you are spending more time growing your relationship with Christ, it must really send him into a panic. And that is when he attacks the hardest.

I've been extremely busy with work lately and so I've neglected getting into God's word. And even though I know many scripture verses, there is nothing like renewing your mind on a daily basis to keep the enemy away. So I've been busy. And tired. And finding myself thinking more discouraging thoughts than uplifting ones. So I've left room for satan to attack.

So this morning I'm thinking of the past few weeks that have been very difficult and this scripture just pops into my mind. It says to take up the shield of faith. So I'm thinking what exactly is the shield of faith. A shield is something that protects one in the midst of a battle. Yes, I need that. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Of course, I need to be hopeful and believe that God is working behind the scenes in my life to bring me hope and a future. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word of God. There it is. God's word. Everything comes back to that, doesn't it? Why do we search for all the answers to all of our problems in everything but scripture? God's word is the answer to all of our problems. It is living and active and has the power to fight the fires in our lives.

Psalm 63

You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

And therein lies our answer to fighting the fiery flames of the devil. Earnestly seek God. Thirst for God. Long for God. Even as you long for water.

God, give me a hunger for your word. Give me an unquenchable desire to know your word completely. To be absorbed in it and filled by it. To desire it as I desire no other. For you are my God and I praise you. Amen.