Just a few days ago my Mom and I were turkey hunting together. We were about to walk into a field through an opening between the tree line, so we paused and glanced into the field to make sure there weren't any birds that would spot us. Upon seeing no turkeys, we began to make our way into the field. Unfortunately, there were some birds over to the right that we didn't see because of the brush in our way, and we caught them by surprise. I was in front of Mom, and I was caught in an awkward position. I had already been seen by the turkeys, but they weren't trying to escape too quickly. I made an instinctive reaction to step up and begin releasing my arsenal of 12 gauge shells upon the gobbler that was closest to me. Three shells had been fired and the bird flew up in the air. Seconds later the bird began to flutter, he hit the ground and took to running once he hit the ground. Knowing I had hit the bird, we looked for him at the edge of the field. Seeing the bird, I proceeded to unload two more shells at him from a distance, and he crawled into the brush where Mom had to shoot one more time because I had run out of shells. The turkey was now down for the count.
What's the moral of the story? Even though the shots I made on that bird were not ideal, I was not going to give up the fight. The decision to use whatever legal means necessary to kill that bird had already been made. It didn't matter if it was two shells or six shells, I was going to give that gobbler what for. Did you know Satan is like that with us? He's going to use his full arsenal against us to try to get us to sin against God. In our passage today look at what Paul says about his attack.
Ephesians 6:16 says "In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In this much needed reminder of the spiritual armor we must wear to protect us from the devil, Paul compares Satan's attacks to flaming arrows being shot at us. One of the important teachings in this text as paired with other Scriptures is that Satan is relentless in the pursuit of his prey in many different ways and at many different times. Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and Satan "left Him until an opportune time" (Lk. 4:13), so he also continues his attacks on us to provoke us to sin.
Perhaps there is a television show that you don't need to watch, but Satan knows there will be multiple opportunities to get you to view it. Perhaps there is a woman at work you know you need to stay away from because she's married, but Satan will continue to try to convince you it won't hurt anything or anybody. Perhaps you bypass the alcoholic drinks at the convenience store, but Satan knows that for some of you the more times you see them on display the more tempting it becomes to buy one. Satan doesn't tempt us once then quit when we resist him. We are told to resist him in 1 Pet. 5:9, but we know he will come back to tempt again. Those flaming arrows are going to continue to be shot at us, so we need to be prepared to deflect them with our spiritual shield.
Don't be caught off guard like the turkey I shot on Friday. Without the shield of faith, those flaming arrows of Satan will spiritually destroy you. Have you been caught with your shield down lately?
Thank you for listening to this week's podcast, Relentless Pursuit. I look forward to being with you again next week for another edition of Biblically Speaking. Until then, I hope you have a marvelous day!
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