The Shield of Faith

A SAFARI HUNTER was once stopped in his tracks by a curious scene in the jungle. A bird was dancing around her nest of eggs as a huge snake made its way toward them up the trunk of the tree. The bird screeched and flailed in vain as the hungry snake drew closer by the second. Her eggs were in mortal danger. Suddenly the bird flew away, as if running from the snake. But within a few seconds she returned with a small leaf in her mouth. She reached the nest just as the snake was about to strike. Quickly the mother bird draped the leaf over her eggs and then flew away to a nearby branch. The hunter was shocked to see the snake hesitate. It froze as if it had encountered a deadly foe. Slowly it recoiled from the nest and went away.

The hunter was puzzled by this curious scene and later asked some natives about it. They laughed and explained that the leaf the mother bird used to cover her eggs was poisonous to the deadly snake. The serpent knew instinctively to back away. The shield was small and flimsy, but it was the one thing that the snake most feared.

"In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan," writes Paul (Ephesians 6:16). It's naive to believe that the enemy is a dormant foe who minds his own business. He is a cunning and crafty adversary who will do anything to catch us off guard and bring us down. His arrows are sharp and sure, and his aim is deadly. He attacks when we least expect it and will try to devour the thing that we most cherish—our relationship with God.

Faith is the shield that keeps his arrows at bay. It is the guard that we hold before us to protect us from the fire of his wrath. Without it, we have no hope of survival.

And what is this life-saving faith made of? It consists of a deep belief in God's promises and a trust in his words of truth. We believe that God's purposes are higher than our frailties. We trust that even in the midst of battle, his will is being fulfilled. We have faith that someday the war will end, and we will be brought home to eternal glory.

Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven.