Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. — Ephesians 6:16
I am far from someone who is perfect. On many occasions in my life, I have allowed my faith to waver. Not dramatically. Not in moments of outright rebellion. Just the slow, quiet lowering of what should have stayed raised. A season of inconsistency in the Word. A stretch of prayerlessness. A period where the pressures of life crowded out the deliberate practice of trust. And in those moments, the enemy attacked.
What I have learned about those seasons is this. The attack was not more fierce than usual. It was more effective. And there is a significant difference between the two.
Paul introduces the shield of faith with two words that deserve to be read slowly. Above all. He is not suggesting that faith is more important than the other pieces of armor. He is saying that faith is the piece that works in conjunction with everything else. It is the active, mobile defense that covers what the other pieces cannot reach on their own.
The shield Paul references was the scutum, the large Roman battle shield. Not a small piece held at arm’s length, but a full-length curved shield designed to absorb the complete impact of an attack. Roman soldiers were also trained to interlock their shields in formation, creating a wall that protected not just themselves but every soldier beside them. Faith held up consistently protects not only the one holding it.
The enemy’s weapon here is described as fiery darts. In ancient warfare, arrows were sometimes dipped in pitch and set ablaze before being fired. The goal was not simply to wound. It was to ignite. To start a fire that would spread and do far more damage than the initial point of impact alone. A single flaming arrow landing in the right place could burn down everything around it.
The enemy’s darts work exactly the same way. A thought of doubt is not meant to simply create a moment of uncertainty. It is meant to ignite a season of it. A flash of fear is not meant to produce one anxious moment. It is meant to spread into a pattern of anxiety that colors everything. A sudden temptation is not meant to produce one bad decision. It is meant to open a door that leads to a room the enemy has been trying to get you into for a long time.
Faith quenches the dart before it can ignite.
But here is what I have learned from the seasons when my faith wavered. The shield has to be raised. A shield left at a soldier’s side absorbs nothing. It does not matter how well-crafted it is or how strong the material is. A shield that is not held up is a shield that is not working. And a believer who has allowed their faith to drift, who has stopped actively trusting, stopped returning to the Word, stopped holding the promises of God up against what the enemy is firing, is a believer with their shield at their side.
That is not when the enemy fires harder. It is when he fires more effectively. Raising the shield of faith is a daily and deliberate act. It is the choice to hold what God has said up against what the enemy is suggesting. To trust what Scripture declares over what fear whispers. To keep believing in what God has promised, even when the circumstances are firing at you from every direction.
Faith raised consistently does not mean the darts stop coming. It means they stop landing. Pick up the shield. Raise it deliberately. The enemy has not stopped firing, make sure you are not giving him an unprotected target.
Sometimes the most meaningful encouragement comes from hearing how God is meeting people in ordinary moments.
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About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
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