I love you, Lord; you are my
strength. The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress,
and my Savior; my God is my Rock, in whom I find
protection. He is my Shield, the power that
saves me, and my place of safety. Psalm 18:1-2
Brother and Sister Warriors,
Shields. Shields have been
continually in my thoughts. What comes to your mind when you think of shields?
War? Battles? Protection? Weapons? Our dread Warrior?
This is so powerful! Our God
reveals Himself as a shield. Our shield.
Doesn’t it make you want to
fall on your knees and worship? This reveals just how personal God is. His
faithfulness is our shield. Look at these two scriptures!
He will cover
you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His
faithfulness will be your shield. Psalm 91:4
The Lord your God is in your midst a victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in
His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts
of joy. Zeph 3:17
Someone shout ‘Amen and Hallelujah!” Is
this not powerful? It moves me to tears. Hang on there is more…
He is the
shield of our help and the sword of our majesty so that our enemies will cringe
before us. Deut 33:29b
But the Lord
is with me like a dread champion; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Jeremiah
20:11
Ancient battles and
skirmishes were fought with different shields. For skirmishes and close combat
the smaller shield was used. The major battles were fought with a curved shield
that protected the whole body.
Why did our God feel it was
necessary to be a shield and also in Ephesians provide a shield? What is He
shielding us from? A more relevant question for us personally may be, ‘’do I
understand why I have a shield’ and
‘am I using the shield God has provided?’
He provided more than a shield,
He provided the whole armor of God for us to wear daily, that we might stand strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. Why
do we need to stand strong? Because this is WAR! Within these words, in
Ephesians, are the principles for the Christian walk, and how we should stand
during trials and troubles that attack us from the enemies camp. Never think
the ‘basics’ are too basic for you and therefore unimportant. Without the
basics we will not be able to apply advanced principles. We will always need to use these fundamentals,
because all things are related to the spirit world. They are the key to
standing strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.
Taken from Ephesians 6:10-18
Girdle of Truth: I put on girdle
of Truth. Give me Divine wisdom, knowledge and discernment, to detect the devil
at work with his lies and secret workings.
Breastplate
of Righteousness: I put
on the breastplate of Righteousness, Jesus own righteousness. Thank You for the
cleansing blood of Christ. I refuse to own the devil’s accusations for my sin
and failure. I am forgiven and forgive those who sin against me.
Shield of
Faith: Above all I take the Shield of faith whereby
I can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked that are hurls at me. By faith I
will stand, knowing this pleases you. I’m saved and healed by faith. I walk by
faith, and I’ll die by faith. I choose to trust You regardless of how I ‘feel’,
for I live by faith, not by feelings.
Helmet of
Salvation: I put on the helmet of Salvation. My
mind is under the protection of your blood shed at Calvary. I have the mind of
Christ. I recognize the enemies thoughts and cast them down for the evil they
are and take captive every thought to the obedience of Jesus Christ as I direct
my thoughts to the victory that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me not forget ‘the battle is the LORD’s!’
Sword of the
Spirit: Finally I take the sword of the Spirit
which is the word of God. Your word is true and is a lamp to my feet and light
to my path. Help me stand in the Victory You have won, LORD, for ‘the battle is the Yours!’ I am
not in self-effort to try
and produce it, but I am to receive
from You, the victory already won.
Think of all a shield represents.
God’s favor is like a shield surrounding us. He alone has power to deliver,
encourage, rescue and give favor with others. He shields us in ways that only
heaven will reveal. His shield affirms His love for us in an amazingly creative
way. He can open doors that no one can close. Let the truth of His being your
shield, amaze you.
Our soul waits
for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His Holy name. Psalm 33:20-21
Jesus shielded us from eternity in HELL. He paid our sin-debt in full.
My feet are dancing!!
“Many [Western
Christians] habitually think and act as if there is no eternity. . . . We major
in the momentary and minor in the momentous.” Randy
Alcorn
Abba, my Shield
and Defender, how great You are! You who watch over me in loving kindness and
discipline me in love… thank you. Thank You for being a Shield to me and for
providing a ‘shield of faith’ for me to take up and wield. It is overpowering
at times, to have You delight in me and to be loved so fiercely. By the Creator
God who spoke billions of galaxies into being. Blessed be Your holy name.
In His love we
are shielded and with our shield we will stand strong,
az
