ArmorOfGod5of7ShieldOfFaith

Shield of Faith
Paul then calls us in Ephesians to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one”. “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all”. Isaiah 7:9 In the Gospels, Jesus healed many. There was not a place, it seems, that Jesus went that as part of his teaching and performing miracles, he healed the sick. But if you read the Gospels closely, and it is noted in each of the 4 Gospels, most that were healed, were healed not by Jesus, but by their faith. Faith in God, faith in his son, an unwavering belief that they would be healed; the Centurion that, “if you would just speak it so”; the woman who if she could just touch his clothing; on and on and Jesus repeated, “by your faith, you have been healed”. Jesus promised us, “if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 It is our faith that gives us strength and our faith that makes our shield strong. “So take heart, men, that I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” Acts 27:25 Keep the faith; stay strong in the faith; renew your faith! “So faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 “They were broken off because of their unbelief, (as a branch that does not bear fruit) but you stand fast through faith.” Romans 11:20
So then you ask, “How do I have faith, how do I increase faith?” This is a good question and one I have asked myself. We so much want for a huge philosophical answer, we want someone to explain the mysteries of the universe to us, and we want a complex answer to this complex question. I hate to break it to you, but it is simpler than we are willing to admit. Allow me to explain: You walk to your sink, you turn your faucet and you have faith that water will be there. You do not stop, you do not ask, you do not question; you KNOW that the water will be there. We are so certain that if water doesn’t come out, we will repeat the same maneuver multiple times in shock that the water has not come out. Jesus says with less faith than that, we can move mountains. The problems lie in; choice and doubt. When we turn the handle, we see the water, instant results and instant gratification. Unfortunately, we don’t control God and rarely does he give us instant gratification. So now were back to choice and doubt.
So ask yourself, honestly, how much do you doubt God? How many times in situations of hardship and trouble have you doubted God’s presence? How many times in prayer and study of the Word have thoughts of doubt about your “religion” entered your mind? I know that doubt likes to rear its ugly head around me from time to time. God understands this; it is in our flesh to question, to challenge, to seek proof. Conquering this involves just a few simple yet challenging steps. First is to acknowledge that you have doubt, it’s ok, the world may condemn you but your Father will praise your courage! Now that you have acknowledged that you have a weakness, it is about realizing and understanding that is now about a choice; to simply choose to have doubt, or to choose to have faith. It is that simple, it is we as human beings, under the sins of our flesh, under the pressures of the world that complicate this, but it is as simple as training yourself to CHOOSE to have faith over doubt. Now again, this does involve training. We have created in ourselves the reflexive response to questions and to doubt, it is only through training, study and prayer that a new reflex of faith can begin to enter our lives as we slowly train ourselves to ignore doubt. And last, you must acknowledge that you cannot go through this training without professional help. You must also acknowledge that it is not in you to handle this on your own and you MUST take it to the feet of Jesus and ask for His help and guidance. The world is too much for all of us and we must always acknowledge that without the help of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, WE WILL FAIL!
As simple as I have made it sound, I haven’t heard of any mountains being relocated on this planet anywhere, but I have seen spiritual mountains turned to piles of dust through a simple act of faith. So stay in prayer, stay strong in your faith and keep your shield at the ready. For with everything we have said here, know this, the flaming darts of the enemy are already in flight and headed in your direction.