THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR.

THE SHIELD OF FAITH (Part 3)

I explained in my last Blog how the grace of faith is a channel through which all the other graces receive strength from Christ. As the shield of faith is of number one importance in our armour, I wish, this time, to show the working of faith within the Christian

Have you ever seen a picture of Roman soldiers experiencing an arrow and javelin attack? They crouch down and form a solid cover with their shields, rather like a tortoise, which causes the arrows of the enemy to fly off in different directions as they hit the shields. If the shields fail, then the soldiers would be overwhelmed. It is exactly the same for us Christians. If our faith fails then all other graces will be affected, or even put to flight, and we will ‘suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,’ as Shakespeare once said in Hamlet Act 3 scene 1. The devil’s fiery arrows will pierce through and cause us to feel weak and useless in our life and daily walk.

No doubt you have experienced times when your faith is strong, and have been able to break the bonds of temptation, as Samson broke the ropes which bound him. At other times when faith is at a low ebb, we have felt that we are being held prisoner because we cannot shake off the enemy’s attacks. In these time of weakness it is our faith which will come to the rescue, just as Joseph fed and supported his brothers during time of famine. Likewise, faith will support us when our supplies of grace run low.

I have sometimes heard people say such things as, “I do not know whether I love God sincerely or not,” “I cannot say I have any true sorrow for sin,” I am at a loss what to think, but sometimes I am ready to think the worst.” We all go through these or similar times of darkness, when the thoughts of our mind seem stronger than our faith.

There are two actions we can take when in these situations. (1) Look up to the Lord Jesus Christ, the ever merciful Saviour. In one of the many occasions when David was cast down, he wrote these words asking God for more than restoration. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast (upright) spirit within me,” Psalm 51:10. No matter how low we feel, or how far away from God our mind or circumstances seem to be telling us, there is always a way back into the arms of a loving Saviour which he holds out to us. There is one proviso, and that is, we look to God with true repentance of heart. When we do this, it is faith which then persuades us to cast ourselves upon the Lord.

(Secondly;) when we feel low, or depressed and have nothing in ourselves to encourage or lift, there will always be a verse which will fit our situation or circumstance. For example: when we feel guilty-2 Samuel 14:14, Romans 8:1-2; feel dejected-Isaiah 65:24, James 4:8-10; when we are depressed-Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 34:8. As we seek God and apply His Word to our hearts, so faith begins to take hold of what God is saying to us and begins to lift and reassure us of who we are and what we are as the born again children of God. God has designed that faith is the best defence against the whiles of Satan.

In the light of the above, our faith must be encouraged, built up, and strengthened because, being chief among the graces, if that weakens, it affects all our other graces. The disciples made two particular requests of Jesus; Luke 11:1, “One of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teach us to pray.’” And in Luke 17:5, “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” Prayer and faith go together, the more we pray and spend time in God’s Word, the more our faith will be built up.

So how do we preserve our faith at a level which will defeat Satan’s attacks?

(First) Regular reading and study of God’s Word. A growing baby must be fed with the best milk at regular intervals. Isaiah suggests a similar way to read God’s Word; “Order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there,” Isaiah 28:10. The people were angry with Isaiah because he taught them as if they were babies, but they had difficulties in understanding him even then. Therefore, when we come to God’s Word, seek the Holy Spirit’s help, compare Scripture with Scripture, think about and pray over the passage read. Ask the help of the Holy Spirit to memorise a particular verse or thought, and a relevant commentary may be found useful. As we absorb the Scriptures and feed on them in this way, we will experience our faith being built up.

(Secondly) Ensure that we have a clear conscience before God and other Christians. If we throw a stone into a clear stream it will muddy the water; and if we have failed or sinned in some way our conscience will be tainted or muddied, and this will lower faith’s working ability. It will be very difficult to stir our faith when something is hanging over our conscience, thus, we need to repent of any sin as soon as possible, and once cleansed, begin again to walk and act in faith.

(Thirdly) Exercise our faith. It is a very true saying that, “Faith lives by exercise.” Strong muscles are built up by exercise. If a weight lifter does not continually exercise his muscles they become flabby, and when called upon to exert himself, he finds weakness has set in, and he doesn’t have the strength he once had, or expects. Of course a classic example of this is Samson, who dabbled in sin, and when called upon to use his strength found himself as weak as a kitten. It is the same for the Christian who doesn’t exercise his faith, for Romans 1:17 tells us, “The just shall live by faith.” Faith is the lifeblood of our spiritual lives.

How many times have we, thinking that God was in approval, acted in a situation without even calling upon our faith to help? Or, what if we need faith for some particular emergency, and find our faith itself is at a loss? We need to memorise God’s promises so that we can always call upon faith in every situation.

Our faith diminishes when we experience times of unbelief. In Psalm 73, David went through such a time, and in verses 21-22 he says “When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant, I was like a beast before You.” Then David remembered God’s promises and his faith revived in verses 23-24, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me into glory.” Whenever we feel like David, let us do what David did by taking hold of God’s promises until our faith revives as strongly as ever.

The more we memorise and trust God’s promises, the stronger and more efficient will be our shield of faith against all the devil’s attacks.

In my next Blog I will finalise on the shield of faith by explaining how faith’s power quenches all the fiery arrows of the enemy.

God bless you,

John