Ephesians 6.13-24 (3)
Pray Psalm 3.3, 4.
But You, O LORD, are a shield for me
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
I cried to the LORD with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill.
Selah
Sing Psalm 3.3, 4.
(Eventide: Abide with Me)
You are a mercy shield about me, LORD,
raising me by Your glory and Your Word.
Prayers fraught with tears stream from me like a fount,
yet God will answer from His holy mount.
Read Ephesians 6.13-24; meditate on verses 15, 16.
Meditate on “Gospel” and “faith” as these apply to you.
Preparation
1. What “brand” of shoe must we wear?
2. What role does faith play in our weaponry?
Meditation
The shoes we put on every day are those of the Gospel of peace should remind us of Jesus last and most important command: “As you are going, make disciples” (Matt. 28.18). Our shoes protect our feet and carry our body forward. So it should be with the Gospel. How we live, what we talk about, and all the good we do are means for bringing the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom of peace to our world.
As you put your shoes on each day, call them what they are, The Shoes of the Gospel, and commit your way and your day to being a witness for Jesus and the hope we have in Him.
Oh, and don’t forget the shield of faith, which is designed to protect you against the assaults of the devil. He is always tempting us to stretch the truth, compromise on the Word, ignore the commandments, do whatever we want. All those thoughts and affections come at us like fiery darts, but with the shield of faith, we can defeat them all and continue our forward progress in the Gospel.
We are impervious to the devil’s wiles so long as we keep faith in Jesus, looking to Him, talking with Him, walking with Him, and living for Him in every situation. The shield of faith can take many forms—Scripture memory, spiritual songs, prayer, meditation, the encouragement of a friend. Make sure you always have your shield in hand and ready for the fray.
Truth and righteousness, Gospel and faith: A good start for any day. But there’s more.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.16
Fashion rules from the 19th century tell us “No white shoes after Labor Day.”
And as we all understand, the wrong shoe can ruin just about any otherwise grand outfit.
Shoes are a durable covering for the human foot. Although horses can also wear shoes.
Shoes protect our feet from everything that has entered the world through sin—Adam and Eve did not arrive shod—sticks, stones, thorns, hot pavement, broken glass, rusty nails, and Legos.
Gospel shoes, those that prepare us for peace with God, and to carry us to offer His peace to others, are created through the Truth of Jesus—His perfect life, His effectual, sin-covering death, His glorious resurrection from the dead, and His reigning, ruling life from eternity past into eternity future. Without this Gospel Truth we have no reason to prep our feet for anything other than being unprotected appendages (Eph. 6.15).
But with this Truth, our belt and breastplate shine…and maybe even become a lovely ensemble with the shoes. Just not white after Labor Day.
But then Paul says, “Above All” (Eph. 6.16). Above all our other accessories? Apparently, yes.
Above all, we are to take up the shield of faith with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And without which it will be impossible to please God (Heb. 11.6).
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11.1).
Paul explains faith a bit more by comparing it to hope.
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope;
for why does one still hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see,
we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Rom. 8.24, 25).
The more unseen and the harder to believe, the better for us.
The shield of faith proves to God, and to ourselves, that we trust in Him wholeheartedly.
That when we go out dressed as we are for battle with the enemy, we do not require anything to make sense to us. God does not need to explain Himself or any of His doings to us, as He informed Job (see Job 38-40). We simply must trust that He is our Sovereign King—Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient—all powerful, everywhere present, and all knowing. And that is good enough. That is faith.
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1.16, 17).
This is God, for Whom we put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, gospel shoes, and the shield of faith to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6.10).
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain…
This is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death…forever” (Ps. 48.1, 14).
Get shod, pick up your shield, and get going.
“Commit your way and your day to being a witness for Jesus…impervious to the devil’s wiles.”
Dressed as we are, he doesn’t have a chance.
Reflection
1. Why are shoes such a good analogy for the Gospel?
2. What about the shield as representing faith? Why is that a good image?
3. How can believers help one another to remember to put their armor on each day?
[T]he feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Motives to obedience, amidst trials, must be drawn from a clear knowledge of the gospel. Faith is all in all in an hour of temptation. Faith, as relying on unseen objects, receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, and so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a defense every way. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Ephesians 6.5-8
Pray Psalm 3.1, 2, 5-8.
Thank God for each of the “weapons” for our warfare He has given to us, and that He Himself is with us always. Commit your day to Him in detail.
Sing Psalm 3.1, 2, 5-8.
(Eventide: Abide with Me)
LORD, all around my foes are multiplied,
rising against me, like a ’whelming tide;
many are saying of my weary soul,
“Not even God can save and make him whole!”
Waking and sleeping, guarded by Your grace,
when foes by thousands stand before my face,
when countless dangers ’round me are arrayed,
I will not fear, I will not be afraid!
Rise up, O LORD, rise up and rescue me!
Let all my foes destroyed and routed be!
Grace and salvation, LORD, are Yours alone;
bless and protect all those You call Your own.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
