The Shield of Faith:

Grief is often accompanied by a myriad of temptations: anger, bitterness, fear, and despair, just to name a few. But God has provided us with everything we need to overcome these temptations, and to move forward in our sorrow with His strength. In this series, we will be studying the various pieces of our spiritual armor, and how each of these pieces uniquely equip us to cling to the hope we have been given in Christ.

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“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming
darts of the evil one.”  Ephesians 6:16

I didn’t grow up in a military family, so we didn’t talk much about wars and how to win battles. I do know about wild life and turtles because my family had land with critters on it. I remember my cousins finding a turtle, taking it back to the house and my grandfather giving us a lesson about how the turtle’s shell protected it from predators. 

If you are wondering what a turtle, winning battles, and the Bible verse above have to do with each other, hang in there and I will explain. 

Back in ancient days when the Scripture was written, the shields used in battles were big rectangular shields made of wood or metal and most of the time they were covered with leather. The soldier would carry the shield, plant it in the ground, and then get behind it as a protective barrier. 

One way the armies would advance was to line up—say six wide and four deep. The front line would hold their shields in front of them, and the soldiers behind them would hold them overhead. This was referred to as the tortoise formation. They were protected in the front and on top.  

Another interesting thing about the shields is they were often soaked in water to protect against fiery arrows. Arrows lit on fire were often used in battle so the water soaked leather provided another layer of protection. 

Are you still with me? Are you wondering what this military lesson has to do with being a Hope Mommy? 

Well, let’s talk about the flaming darts (or arrows) of the enemy. Some common fiery arrows the enemy uses to attack Hope Mommies are fear, anger, jealousy, anxiety, depression, and confusion. We need to hold up our shield of faith, the ones soaked in water—the living water, Jesus. 

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him
will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him
will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

Faith in Jesus helps to shield us from the attacks of Satan. When Satan tries to attack us with flaming arrows of doubt, fear, anxiety or depression, we can plant our living-water soaked shields of faith and take cover behind them. The arrows may fly in our direction, but the Lord will protect us. 

Our shields are made strong by leaning into God’s Word, which is full of promises of His faithfulness, love, and protection. As we read about God’s faithfulness, love, and protection, our faith grows—in spite of what we see around us or what our unreliable emotions are telling us. 

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

One more military analogy. When the armies were using their shields to get into the tortoise formation, they are standing TOGETHER against the attacks of the enemy. Alone, they could either hold their shield in front of them or over their head. Alone, they were vulnerable. As a turtle group, they were protected in front and above. And, if the army had been made up of women, I bet they would’ve been chatting under their shell. 

Dear Hope Mommy, we need each other. We are better together. We can take up our shields of faith and move forward in the battle together. We can offer each other comfort and compassion so we can better withstand the attacks of the enemy. Hope Mommy, I’m glad you are here. Grab your shield and join our turtle formation so we can march forward full of hope and joy. 

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Shelly D. Templin is an author, speaker and blogger that shares a message of hope—with humor. She has three daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. Shelly lives in Texas with her husband, Jack, of 29 years and their two dogs.

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