Greetings friends! Since its invention, the shield has played a key role in the makeup of a soldier’s armor. As followers of Jesus Christ, we, too, are to work with a shield—the shield of faith, which Paul states can “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Faith is having confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is a belief that does not rest singly on logical proof or material evidence. Through faith amazing things happen (see Hebrews 11). By placing their faith in Jesus, a ruler’s daughter who had died was brought back to life; a woman afflicted with a twelve-year hemorrhaging condition was healed; and the blind were given the ability to see (see Matthew 9:18, 19, 23–26 for ruler’s daughter; Matthew 9:20–22 for afflicted woman; Matthew 9:27–31 and Mark 10:46–52 for blind men receiving their sight).
Each of these individuals was healed of their afflictions because they believed Jesus could heal them. We, too, will receive healing from our afflictions by calling out to Christ. His ministry of intercession is as real and available to us today as it was when He walked the face of the earth more than two thousand years ago.
Exploring the ways we have been conditioned to think and behave requires faith. It may very well be that we are quite aware of what lurks below the surface of our life. Or it could be that we have been unaware that an issue remains unresolved. Either way, what will happen when we come face-to- face with these issues? Will they overwhelm us? Will we be hurt again? In these moments, I believe we receive the greatest degree of strength through faith in the Lord. Obviously, we have not understood what to do with these unresolved issues, or we would have already resolved them. Yet, in these moments, when we boldly step out in faith and confront our fears, we can stand firm and rest assured God’s armor is sufficient for us to fight this battle and be victorious. Through these experiences, we have the opportunity to master our use of the shield. This is where learning God’s word comes in. Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan through faith in His Father’s word (see Matthew 4:1-11). If it worked for Him, it will work for us.
Want to learn more about resisting the devil? Log on to The Conditioned Mind. Blessings to you and those you love!
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