I was not prepared for how the week of faith would test me. This is otherwise known as the week of Ezra and the nickel.
God is faithful. I know that and I think that most of the time I live it. Yet there are those times I live defeated and broken. There are times that I do not live as though I know God is faithful. Mercifully, that does not affect His faithfulness. It simply affects my victory stance.
Hebrews 11:1 lays out faith for us as so: "Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen".
Those words - reality and proof - speak of certainty. Faith is certainty in God. It is confidence in God's promises despite circumstances or consequences. It persists in trusting God.
"Faith is acting like it is so, even when it is not so, so that it might be so, simply because God said so." - Shirer
A simplified way of looking at it is faith = trust. Faith and trust both begin in the heart, but they are both proven in action. They are shown in obedience.
"Faith is acting like God is telling the truth...it is the process of adapting your behavior, your decisions, and ultimately, your whole lifestyle so that it accords with what God has asked you to do - without needing to see the evidence that it will all work out in the end...The act of faith is what becomes a shield of protection to guard against the enemy's attacks" - P. Shirer.
It was 3 days before I taught on faith that my sweet monkey boy Ezra decided a nickel looked tasty to eat. With a nickel lodged in his throat, we drove him the ER and waited for 4 hours. I held him through the night as they admitted us, as that was the only time he would really rest. I waited the next morning as doctors changed shifts and no one could fit the surgery into his schedule. I clung to him with tears trickling down my face, out of fear and sheer exhaustion, and listened to the surgeon explain the risks. I handed him over to the nurse so they could anesthetize him.
In that awful, scary moment, I felt God speak to me about faith.
I could have walked around the entire hospital or called everyone in my phone and told them how fantastic the doctors were. I could have gotten on the speaker system and lauded their abilities. I could have talked myself hoarse about my belief in their knowledge and education.
But if in that moment, I chose not to hand my son over to them, I never really believed in them at all. My faith in the doctor and nurses was proven when I gave them my son.
I knew that I needed to hand Ezra over to them because their abilities to help him far exceeded anything that I could do.
They said the nickel had to come out, so I believed them.
They said they had to put him under to get it, so I let them.
They said I couldn't go with him, so I had to let him go.
So it is with God. If we never hand our mess over to Him to deal with and allow Him to work out what needs to be worked out in our lives, do we really trust Him? Do we really believe Him? Do we really have the faith in Him that we profess?
Paul chose to describe faith as a shield. Shields are meant to protect us and act as a covering for us. That begs the question, what is faith meant to protect us from?
Paul says faith protects us from flaming arrows.
"In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" - Ephesians 6:16
You might be thinking, "Phew. It's been awhile since I've seen a flaming arrow."
It was revelatory to me when Priscilla Shirer pointed out that in Roman times, flaming arrows were not necessarily meant to take out an enemy. When someone was shooting a flaming arrow, it was meant to be a distraction from the real battle at hand. The intent was to get the other side so busy putting out those fires that they were disabled from fighting and vulnerable to attack.
Your enemy wants to distract you from the real battle. He wants to take your attention away from his strategy of war and he's relentless in the ways he will use to do it.
So, what's distracting you?
Arrows of condemnation? "You're always going to struggle with that sin and shame"
Jealousy? "You'll never be as pretty or talented as she is"
Insecurity? "Nobody wants you and you have nothing to offer"
Worry? "You're going to be sucked under that mess"
Sadness? "There's something wrong with you"
Doubt? "God doesn't love you, He just puts up with you"
There's a weapon for that.
This is where faith goes to work. As Shirer says, "We need to give our faith a job". Faith extinguishes flaming arrows, we are told.
Holding up the shield of faith renders Satan powerless. Trusting God is who He says He is and will do what He promised to do protects you from every single flaming arrow that Satan wants to use to distract you.
"If you want to see insecurity quelled, doubts suppressed, fears quieted, hate overpowered, or intimidation assuaged, move forward in obedience. In faith" - Shirer
Condemnation tries to get us to look at our sin. Jealousy tries to get us to look at others. Insecurity tries to get us to look at ourselves and all we lack. Worry tries to get us to look at our circumstances.
Faith looks at God. Faith sees His power and His goodness and His overcoming love for us.
And that's what makes us able to step out in action.
"If you are struggling to move forward in obedience to God, you do not need bigger faith. You just need to realize how big your God is. The more faithful and strong you believe Him to be, the more wiling you will be to depend on Him. Your level of faith will always be tied to your perception of God...you don't need more faith; you need a more comprehensive and accurate view of the faithfulness of your God" - Shirer
Rejoice, dear friends! Our shield of faith means that there is nothing with which Satan can come at us. Faith shields, protects, covers us - every day, every situation.
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