The Wicked One and His Fiery Darts | Ephesians 6:16
“In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Ephesians 6:16
If you’ve ever visited Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., you know the deep impression it leaves. More than 400,000 American service members who gave their lives defending our country are laid to rest there. Over 4 million people visit each year to honor their sacrifice. It is sacred ground—solemn, weighty, unforgettable.
But let me draw a sobering parallel. In the spiritual war, there are far more casualties. Men and women who began well in the race of faith but did not finish. Over the decades in my ministry, I’ve heard heartbreaking stories: young believers who got pulled into destructive habits, adults who gave up when life crushed them, even pastors who fell under relentless attack. What was missing? Simply this: they never learned how to put on the whole armor of God.
Today, we come to the third piece of that armor. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:16 that the shield of faith can extinguish “all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Think about that for a moment. The enemy only has two ways of gaining entrance into your life:
By luring you into sin and temptation.
By being granted limited access from God, as in the story of Job.
And his main tactic? Fiery darts.
John Bunyan, in Pilgrim’s Progress, described how Christian was relentlessly attacked by Apollyon (the devil), who tried every trick—accusation, enticement, discouragement, intimidation—to make him abandon the journey. Bunyan showed us that without the shield of faith, the believer cannot stand.
You’re in the same kind of battle. The closer you walk with God, the bigger a target you become. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to be afraid. God has given you the shield of faith. You must decide, in every trial, to hold it up.
In Roman warfare, archers would drench their arrows in pitch—a thick, tar-like, flammable substance—light them on fire, and then launch them with deadly intent. That’s the picture Paul is painting. Satan’s darts may come through a temptation, a stinging word from a professor or co-worker, a private lust that suddenly stirs, or even a poisonous thought that seems to appear out of nowhere. As Bible teacher John Phillips put it:
“We will never be out of range of Satan’s fiery darts, but they can be quenched and rendered harmless by the shield of faith.”
You are not defenseless. God has armed you. If you learn how to lift up the shield of faith, every fiery dart can be stopped. Don’t become a casualty of war. Be ready. Take notes. And remember—faith is not passive; it’s a shield you must raise in the heat of battle.
