Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: ARROW (11/17/22)
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TITLE: Ephesians 6 Devotional | Previous Challenge Entry
By Hannah Rowen Fry
11/22/22 -
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An arrow pierces. It wounds. It hurts more than just the skin as it pushes through with its sharp point. Once it makes contact with its target, pulling it out becomes even more damaging than the initial impact. The skin and whatever organs are immediately behind it are wounded beyond repair.
The front of the tip is not the most dangerous part of the arrow ; the back of the tip is. The front makes a clean cut, slices through its target. If this was the only injury, some stitches would be all it took to recover. Assuming there was no infection, the area would just be left with a scar and otherwise completely unchanged after healing. But this is not the case; arrows are much more deadly, not because of the tip but because of what comes after.
The back catches after it goes in, macerating what was a clean cut, turning it from a simple laceration into a deadly wound. Any hope of repair is destroyed, too, as this irreparable damage takes place. Healing is possible, but only with more extreme measures such as transplant or removal of the affected area altogether.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he speaks of a spiritual battleground. Satan shoots his flaming arrows at us, we can protect ourselves from them with a shield of faith. From this statement alone we can draw a few conclusions.
First, the battle is real. We do not fight an imaginary enemy, but one who is actively working to steal, kill, and destroy us. His arrows may not be physical, but the impact of his weapons are just as harmful to our mind, body, and soul as arrows would be.
Secondly, our faith protects us. Paul mentions the weapons we yield and the armor we wear as tools we can use for spiritual battles. But the shield is the only part he mentions that actually diminishes the work of evil. It is the only offense we have that we can control. God is fighting for us, too, but growing our faith is our responsibility in this fight. As we grow in our faith, we grow in our protection.
Thirdly, Satan's arrows are dangerous, but they don’t have to hit us. With our shields up, we can extinguish this fire as we block the arrows. And by the grace of God, healing and redemption is possible if the arrows hit us. The arrows still pierce, causing pain and will definitely leave a scar. But perhaps the fire that’s meant to destroy can actually cauterize the wound? For the moments we are struck when our shield is down, perhaps not all hope is lost. Maybe healing can still come, and instead of bleeding out, we can be restored.
We can win the battle. In fact, Jesus already did. If our shields fail us, the Great Physician won’t.
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