“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Ephesians 6:16 NIV
When the people of Israel wanted to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem after their captivity ended, the enemy threw many obstacles into their path (read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah for the full story). He still takes this approach today, ensuring that efforts to build the kingdom of God are met with challenges and discouragement.
Soldiers who go to war risk injury and death. As followers of Jesus, we are not immune to the enemy’s aggression, facing discouragement, disappointment, worries, and misunderstandings. In many cases, we may not recognize them as the flaming arrows of the evil one, but Paul tells us that we are in a spiritual war and should always pray for all the Lord’s people. Knowing that servants of God are his greatest threat, the devil tries to render them ineffective. This makes it all the more important that we pray for God’s protection for each other!
D. L. Moody was in a miserable state of mind, feeling that God was insufficiently blessing his service. His discouragement and depression influenced everyone around him as he disparaged their meetings and the lack of success. This continued for several months, representing a major trial in the life of the renowned evangelist.
One Monday, he met another preacher, who enthused about the previous day’s services before asking Moody, “And how was your day?”
Moody answered, “Not good. No power. I preached about Noah.”
“Noah?” smiled the other pastor. “Have you ever really studied Noah’s life? He had a wonderful character.”
Willing to acknowledge that he might have missed something about this patriarch, Moody reread the well-known story from this new perspective and realized, “Poor Noah! He preached righteousness for 120 years and nobody outside of his family took heed.”
Several days later, he spoke with a young preacher who had just finished revival meetings during which ten people had found peace with God. Moody thought to himself, “Noah would have been thrilled with that result! But even without such a success, Noah was not as discouraged as I am. He remained steadfast in faith.”
Later, a young man said to him, “Mr. Moody, I’d like you to pray for me.” And again, Moody had to think, “It would have meant so much to Noah to hear these words at least once in 120 years!” He was reminded of Psalm 42, saying to himself, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!” Moody hoped in God, took new courage, and continued his work to great effect. Had he not learned to overcome, discouragement would have made him useless to the Lord’s work, as has been the case for so many others.
Sabot is a French word for a wooden shoe. Sabotage was the practice of throwing a wooden shoe into a machine to stop production. Later, the word’s meaning expanded to include any attempt to obstruct or ruin production. Satan has his own “wooden shoes” that he attempts to ruin our souls with. They include worries, fear, doubts, bitterness, and discouragement.
Do not give up in difficult situations. Resist the enemy! Stay courageous, pray, believe, and trust in God. Remain faithful, and God will carry you through and give you victory!
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