Day 7: Rahab and Wonder Woman
Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:16 AMP
Scriptures: Ephesians 6:16; Joshua 2:1-4, 9-12, 21; Joshua 6:22-25; James 2:25-26
Sun Tzu says in The Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” In this scripture, God gives us a clear view of one of the enemy’s tactics: flaming arrows. God also gave us a way to stop these flaming arrows, a shield of faith.
Yet, this shield will not just stop the arrows, it will also put out the fires. That way an arrow will not go bouncing off the shield just to cause more damage. God is thorough in His plan to protect us. That is why He gives us faith to battle not only those arrows, but just like the quote, to give us confidence, to know what we are up against while knowing who we, and our God, is. The fire of fear is extinguished by the hope of faith.
In Ancient Roman times, there were shields lined with leather so that the leather could be soaked with water. That way, when a fiery projectile (like an arrow) hit it, the fire went out. Can you imagine carrying a a wet, leather covered metal shield that was as big as you and some so it could cover your army men? The strength and perseverance needed for that almost seems super-human, right? Well, it is, especially when it comes to a shield made up of faith.
Now do not be disheartened. You can still carry the shield. Everyone needs help. Faith is not something we carry alone. In the Bible, Rahab had faith not only in the story of God’s might, but also the word of those spies that they would spare her if she kept her word. She hid them, risking being branded as a traitor on top of her label as a prostitute. And the spies knew this. They warned her and even told her that they would be freed if she broke her oath. She understood, and did not.
Rahab was spared. Through relying on spies and risking everyone she loved on a story she heard, she saved their lives. That is some super human level trust that starts with her intentionally making a decision to hide the spies. Then she told the soldiers the wrong way to go. Those are two small decisions that led to the great acts of what she is remembered for. Rahab did not do some great super heroic feat of lifting a car or move a mountain. She just opened her mouth and put a cloth outside her window.
And for fun, we can look at a superhero, a princess even. In her titular live-action movie Wonder Woman, Princess Diana of Themyscira, was taught that men were creatures who would created their own self-destruction. That they could never change. Yet, Diana refused to believe that such a fragile and beautiful creation was without hope. That they were simply being led astray and once freed, they would choose right.
She held this faith in humanity that a fellow human man (who was an army spy) did not hold. Until he met her and was reminded that, yes, humans can be believed in. Not because she could lift a tank on her own but because she loved ice cream, dancing, and a man’s horrible singing. Those little human moments that were things still silly or forgotten by the spy, were what fed Wonder Woman’s faith. In the end, when that faith was tested, it was those small moments that Wonder Woman remembered. Not crossing the battlefield but seeing babies for the first time, getting clothes, dancing, singing, saying I love you. That was what fed her faith.
The shield of faith has a big job and can seem like a heavy burden. Yet, with small intentional steps, our heroes have reached great heights with that shield. Rahab not only spared her family, she also became a part of the linage of Jesus. Wonder Woman not only defeated the villain, she started the long process of healing the world and healing from losing the man she loved while becoming her own hero.
God knows who we are and knows that with Him, we can do mighty things. He is with us, carrying that shield, reminding us that He is with us. He knows this. So does the enemy. Why else would the weapon of choice be long distance?
With our faith in God, we (us and God) can carry this shield of faith. We can move mountains. Yet, it is not by pushing the mountain that makes that happen, moving mountains happens by the small intentional decisions that show and say, God, I believe in You. God, I love you. What we are carrying is not just a soaked shield, but our small actions of faith that in God, can move mountains. What are you carrying?
Something Good 