Pick Up Your Shield :: Deeper Devotion

by Glenn Ansley

Proverbs 2:7
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

Any soldier engaged in a battle is aware that his shield is the most important weapon of defense. Regardless of the size of his sword or army, a soldier without a shield is the prime target for his enemy. A warrior would no sooner lay down his shield than he would his sword. The word of God often reminds us of the importance to this truth. I find an overwhelming peace in knowing that He who has created the heavens is also my shield. At the same time, it gives me great unrest to witness so many children of God willingly laying down their shields in the midst of an ever-increasing spiritual battle.

Proverbs proclaims that God is a shield to those who walk in integrity; Ephesians 6:16 considers our faith itself as a shield against the “fiery missiles” Satan throws our way. Nonetheless, Christians are continually trading in their integrity for pleasure and their faith for selfish gain. In effect, they exchange their shields for temporary and earthly treasures. As the Apostle Paul so eloquently puts it in Romans 1:22, 23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

It is becoming increasingly apparent that our enemy often knows us better than we do ourselves. He is extremely aware of the fact that God is a shield to the righteous and that no weapon formed against that person will prevail (Isaiah 54:17). It is with this knowledge that the father of lies so persistently insists that we are not at war. Those who accept his deception willingly lay down their shields, their righteousness, and their God’s protection. For them, the battle might as well be over.

I speak with every sense of urgency when I say, “Pick up your shields!” We must sound a battle cry for the army of God. Do not be deceived any longer by the lies of our enemy. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). It is for this reason that we must pursue righteousness and God. Proverbs 2 promises that those who walk in integrity will not only have God as their shield, but as their provider. He will guard our paths, preserve our ways, watch over us, deliver us from evil, and lead us so that we may walk in the way of good men.

I challenge you not to commit your life to integrity but your days… each and every one of them. You must get up in the morning and dedicate the day to the Lord. You must go to bed with your integrity and wake with it in the morning. He who is without integrity is like the soldier without his shield in the midst of a battle.

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