Ancient armies had two types of shields. A large shield was carried in one hand for full body protection. An army could huddle together and raise these shields over their heads as a defensive barrier when fiery arrows were falling from the sky. The shield carried in the other hand was smaller and used for hand-to-hand combat or personal safety when rocks were hurled from the top of city walls. For the believer, God is our shield.

Psalm 91:4-6
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A shield was made of wood covered with cowhide or layers of cowhide and was an essential part of the soldier’s armor. Without it, the warrior’s body was left open and unprotected, fatality vulnerable. The psalmist tells us that God’s faithfulness is our shield. Paul reminds believers to never go into battle without the “shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

Satan’s flaming darts are coming at us nonstop. They fly at us in the form of sexual appetite, the desire for gain, the search for power and possessions. Satan shoots fiery arrows of pride, envy, selfish ambition, and doubt. The shield of faith—a confident trust in the eternal God—is our only defense against temptation. God is “a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5). In times of doubt, the shield of faith protects us with the promises of God. In times of temptation, the shield of faith protects us with the power of God.

Father,
I cannot win the battle on my own. Left to myself, I am defenseless and will fall and be rendered ineffective. So, I take up my shield—the God who is always faithful. Thank you for giving me the strength to resist the flaming arrows of temptation.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.