Faith Is Always the Answer
“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
With these words the apostle reminds us of the important role faith plays in spiritual warfare. It is useful at every turn against every attack of the enemy. To grasp the significance of Paul’s words, we need to understand, first of all, what he means by the flaming darts of the evil one.
The metaphor is easy to grasp. Picture in your mind’s eye a besieged fort in days of old, surrounded by archers firing blazing arrows, dipped in pitch, over the battlements. Every time one lands, a new fire breaks out. These fires are doubly dangerous: they destroy and they distract. They destroy buildings, supplies, and of course people. Should one land amidst the stores of gunpowder, the result would be immediately catastrophic. They also distract, drawing manpower away from the battlements to extinguish the fires they start.
Similarly, in spiritual warfare the devil launches hellish darts into the minds of human beings. He knows well when to fire such arrows our way – principally, when we are hungry, angry, lonely, and tired (HALT). Be on guard at such times. These darts represent his Satanic insinuations to doubt, amongst other things, the truth of God’s Word, the reality of God’s judgment, the goodness of God’s heart, and the consequences of our actions. The best illustrations of this kind of thing are mankind's first encounter with him in Genesis 3 and our Savior’s temptations at the commencement of His earthly ministry.
There is no better remedy to such darts than faith, for this weapon helps the Christian see through the appearance of things in order that he might see reality. Take a moment and consider your life presently. What lies are you tempted to believe? Think about your sins, especially the ones that trip you up again and again. When you embrace the enemy’s sweet suggestions, what lies do you believe? Be specific. In every temptation, the devil always holds out some goodness. We never choose evil for evil’s sake, but always because it promises some goodness to us.
What lies, for example, do we believe when we embrace the temptation to grumble and complain? Life is not fair. God is not in control of my circumstances. If God is in control, He can’t be trusted; He doesn’t have my best interests at heart. Other people are the principal actors in this situation; no one is on my side. I’m not really grumbling; I’m just letting others know I am up against it. Doesn’t the Bible contain many laments? And of course it does, but the psalmist always directs His laments Godward. Grumbling tends to have a much more horizontal ethos. Remember, it is always okay to complain to God, but we should never complain against Him. Such reports spread discouragement among the children of God (Psalm 73:15).
What lies do we believe when we give way to sinful anger? I am strong when I am angry. Anger will produce the righteousness of God, so I can use it to force my children to make the right choices or be respectful. If I don’t stand up for myself, nobody else will. This situation is not fair, and it is most definitely not going to work out for my good. I am right to be angry. The list goes on.
Once we have isolated the appearance of goodness behind the temptation, the next step is to put faith to work. And faith, you remember, always lays hold of the Word of God, the sword of truth. We will deal with that presently in upcoming weeks. But for now, suffice it to say this: Once we have identified the false thoughts dominating our mind, we need to simply ask ourselves (or our pastor), What does God’s Word say about this way of thinking or this particular choice or situation?
With the appearance of things and their reality firmly before us, we need to cry to the Lord Christ, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” This habit is the key skill we need at every turn against every attack of the enemy.