Those Fiery Darts

 Well, haven’t we all had a week to remember?  Whilst we remain fine, things around us are pointing to doom and gloom, at least as far as the world we understand.  

And the trend seems to be global. Here in Australia as well as in the USA, the ‘more conservative’ factions were beaten out by liberal powers.  Not sure yet how that’s going to play out, but we’ll be praying for wisdom among our evangelical brothers and sisters who are convinced that the end is nigh. I did hear a remark the other day that I found both comforting and challenging. “Historically, persecution has never hurt the church.”

And then on top of all that uncertainty, another of our missionary kids from Japan and from son Nathan’s generation had a heart attack and died this week. I think that makes five from a close-knit group of friends who grew up together as part of a very special mission family. Suffice it to say, folks all over the globe have been crying on each other’s shoulders, separated by miles but closer than ever in His Spirit.

What better time to come back to our exploration of the ‘Armor of God’, even as we’re wondering if it might be coming in handy sooner rather than later!

Ephesians 6:16 "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." 

About those ‘flaming arrows’ …  what do you suppose those are in today’s world?  Those images play a pretty big part in the movies. The enemy presses on, coming closer and closer to the castle walls. The cowboys on horseback and the covered wagons take on the Indians: six-guns against flaming arrows. It’s always exciting to watch, but hey, do we really believe that the hero will succumb to those arrows?  Will those fiery shafts bring the battle to an end?

Usually not.  

But what do they accomplish instead?  They set drawbridges and covered wagons on fire. In other words, they create DIVERSIONS!  Our hero can’t really focus on the enemy if the grain stores or the ammo cache is about to go up in flames.  Like it or not, he MUST divert his energies and deal with the situation at hand.

Can you see the connection to those images and the week we’ve just weathered?  Have we had some ‘flaming distractions’?  You bet we have. I’ve struggled to have my scheduled quiet time when all the while my mind is yelling at some of my friends whose political candidate is so misguided.  Where was the ‘peace’ I talked about last week?  Did I spread it or lose it?

Sadly, I need to get out my ‘Shield of Faith’ and polish it.  I need to REMEMBER that the battle we find ourselves in is not the end of the world. Until the Lord returns, we will always have Satan and his minions with us, each one loaded with a supply of fiery darts. And they’ll use every last one, if that’s what it takes to distract us from the real conflict.

Of course I want beautiful skies and smooth sailing, all to the sound of an appropriate soundtrack. But in reality, it’s just possible that I may have to ‘gut it out’ for awhile and watch for the fires that may spring up. With a firm grip on that Shield of Faith, I have nothing to fear and every reason to rejoice. Help is on the way! 

Till next week, Marsha