I wanted to share with you an illustration of two very different shields.
In Ephesians 6:16, Paul tells us to take of the Shield of Faith with which we will be able to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Here’s the problem.
Before we come to faith in Jesus, we construct our own shield.
I call it the Shield of Pain.
People hurt us and instead of healing properly we store up the pain in our subconscious which the Bible refers to as our Hidden Chambers.
We use the pain when it triggers from our past trauma into our present situation as a reminder to shield ourselves from those we perceive as predators.
We might even put everyone in the predator category and become so shielded by pain that we don’t let anyone into our lives.
That’s extreme, but people, even after coming to faith in Jesus, think that holding onto their pain will protect them by reminding them not to trust others or take risks especially in relationships.
Here’s the deal folks.
The only thing your shield of pain does is hurt — Period.
It cannot protect you; it only robs you of the joy that comes from fully engaging God and others.
It will block you from loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself.
Beloved, we were made for agape and to agape.
There’s no way you can hide behind your shield of pain and also use your shield of faith.
So, how do you make the switch?
First, invite the Lord to search your Hidden Chambers and start the cleansing process.
We are here to help you in that journey.
We are seeing lives transformed and set free through the new Journey Tools program.
Then, learn to use your shield of faith in God’s love for you to snuff out the lies, accusations, deceptions and temptations that Satan throws at you.
The shield of faith even can withstand friendly fire.
This is when other believers and those closest to you react in their flesh and send fiery arrows your way.
Our faith in Jesus as our Need Meeter will snuff them out too.
We will still feel them impact our shield, but we will be able to stand firm in our faith in Jesus nonetheless.
So, beloved, which shield are you using?
Why not give your pain to Jesus and put your faith in the One who loves you with an everlasting, unchanging love.
Blessings!
Robyn Henning