The Shield of Faith

The Shield of Faith

(Ephesians 6:16)

“Is God really going to take responsibility for me until the end?” “Why is He just standing by, doing nothing, in a moment like this?” “Now I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.” Even when we don’t want them, such thoughts can suddenly rise up and trouble us.

1. Fiery Darts
These are the devil’s spiritual attacks. He precisely discerns each person’s weaknesses and relentlessly fires countless fiery darts at them. His purpose is not simply to cause distress, but to shake our trust in God and ultimately sever the relationship between the Savior and those He has saved. Why does a believer suddenly begin to doubt God? Because the devil tempts with what is so appealing and approaches with such persuasive power—that’s how far he goes.

2. Shield
In ancient warfare, fiery darts were deadly weapons. They didn’t just stop at piercing the body—they went further, inflicting burns where they struck. The flaming substances that scattered on impact ignited anything nearby, throwing entire formations into chaos. Now imagine such terrifying weapons raining down from the sky. Unless soldiers had large shields—made of solid wood and thick leather, soaked in water before battle—they could not be protected from such an assault.

3. Trust
God has given this kind of shield to us who are in the midst of spiritual warfare. It is the “shield of faith.” Faith spoken of here is not merely agreement with doctrine or recognition of spiritual knowledge. It is trusting in God as a personal being—relying fully on His promises and His word, and on His will and His plan. The God who saved us through Christ, who is guiding our lives even today, and who will protect us until the resurrection—He never fails. To trust in this God to the very end—this is the shield that can quench every fiery dart of the devil.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim