Our Shining Shield

Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

I read a devotional about the old hymns that spoke to our faith, the Word of God and God’s love for us. It said that the second verse of the hymn “Faith Is the Victory” goes “Faith is the victory! Faith is the victory! O glorious victory, that overcomes the world. His banner over us is love, Our sword the Word of God. We tread the road the saints above with shouts of triumph trod. By faith, they like a whirlwind's breath, Swept on o'er every field. The faith by which they conquered death is still our shining shield”, depicts the soldiers of light as they march into battle. Our Commander-in-Chief has erected His identifying banner over the troops, and His “banner over us is love”. How does love identify us? “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments”.

His banner over us is love, our sword the Word of God; We tread the road the saints above, with shouts of triumph trod. By faith they like a whirl-wind’s breath, swept on o’er every field; the faith by which they conquered death, is still our shining shield. The saints of yesteryear, who in faith have battled victoriously, give us great confidence.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 Their armor, and ours, is listed in the classic “Full Armor of God” passage of Ephesians 6:10-18. My remember that this passage was my best friend’s daughter’s “life Passage” while she was in college. She used to tell me that she would recite it every morning to start her day. It was her armor against the flesh, the God-rejecting world and the devil. Our sword, identified as the “Word of God”, is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” that cut in both directions. Our faith is our shield which protects us from the wicked one ... Satan and his fiery darts.

 But, as Yogi Berra once said: it’s not over until it’s over, and “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Death is swallowed up in victory” – Corinthians 15:16, 54. When it’s over, our faith in the work and person of our Lord Jesus Christ will have provided a glorious and everlasting victory. 

Rejoice in Christ, Brian