Ephesians 6:16 (TPT), “In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the Evil One!”

We understand, through scripture, that the good fight of faith we are to wage takes place in the battlefield of the mind. Faith is a Divine quality that lives in our reborn spirit-man. It is a powerful weapon of both defense and offence against the enemy of our souls. Any incorrect thought or mindset that is contrary to God’s thought, concerning us or Him, is considered a weapon against us. The Bible calls it a blazing arrow or fiery dart. If it is not dealt with immediately, that fiery dart will set everything in its vicinity ablaze with unbelief and doubt. It will burn out the truth of God’s Word until its destructive work is complete - rendering the believer powerless and defeated against the attack of the enemy. This is a very dangerous state for the believer to be in. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…”, the word heart here means soul (mind); and 2 Peter 2:19 says we are a slave to whatever controls us. We may be born-again in our spirit-man, but a mind that is void of the thoughts of God will be led down a path of absolute destruction (Romans 8:6). Eventually one rebellious thought against God leads to another, until it eventually rejects any form of truth, denying the Person of truth Himself - Jesus Christ. Hebrews 6:4-7, and Romans 1:18-32 explain how refusal to alter this rebellious state of mind causes God to remove His indwelling Spirit from the person, condemning them to an eternity without Him. Which is why being vigilant to identify every contaminated thought and extinguish its fire, before it’s given the chance to spread across our minds is crucial! The Bible says that faith is the wrap-around shield that does just that! How does this faith that lives in our spirits, continuously flow into our minds, dousing every thought with its cleansing power, and reenforcing us with supernatural fire-retardant? The Bible says faith comes like a mighty rushing force, up from our spirits and into our minds as we renew our thoughts to the truth of God’s Word (Romans 10:17). Today, understand the importance of dominating your mind with the truth of God’s Word. As you do, that wrap-around shield of faith will protect your mind as you recognize thoughts that contradict God’s thoughts. Immediately reject them and replace them with what God’s Word says about the issue at hand and dwell on that truth until every spark of contradiction is completely snuffed out. This is how you will live in victory - one extinguished dart at a time!