As the battle waged by the pro-abortion movement against God’s Kingdom continues to intensify, the Holy Spirit has had me mulling on the critical importance of the armor God has equipped us with for effective warfare. Of all the components of the armor Paul described, the shield of faith has particularly gripped my attention.
The Shield
The Roman shield of Paul’s time was called a “scutum.” Unlike the stereotypical Captain America-type shield that is easily wielded and portable, the scutum was as large as a door and provided full coverage for the warrior. It was also made of wood. Wait, what? Wood?
Paul specifically said that the arrows fired by the enemy were “flaming darts” (another battle tactic of that time for soldiers would shoot arrows with flaming tips at their opponents). Last I checked, wood is combustible when met with fire, so how would a wooden shield be a defense against flaming darts?
I did some research and discovered a fascinating fact! Roman soldiers would drench their wooden shields in water to render them wet. These wet shields would then be able to extinguish the flaming darts! In fact, the Greek word Paul used for “extinguish” (or “quench” as some translations render) literally means “to extinguish by drowning in water,” again referring to the water-soaked shields.
Living Water
This realization immediately brought to mind Jeremiah 2:13, where God referred to Himself as “the spring of living water,” and Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well where He promised to give those who believed in Him “living water.”. The shield of faith we are to raise up in battle is most effective when soaked in the living waters of our Savior!
Your work to save every abortion-at-risk woman God sends your way and her preborn child is done by raising your shield of faith over her to deflect the flaming darts satan shoots at her. Most importantly, it is only when you saturate your shield with living water by sharing the life-saving and life-changing gospel of Jesus with her that your shield becomes most powerful!
The Importance of the Gospel
The gospel is at the very crux of PreBorn!’s ministry. We are deeply committed to coming alongside you and your team to help you become even more effective in sharing Jesus with every woman and man who walk through your doors.
If it has been over a year since your team has undergone our Invitation evangelism training, please consider how you can utilize this simple and effective Spirit-led tool for sharing the gospel. Did you know we have a grant you would be eligible for after completing the training? Please contact Sydney for more information.
