Defenseless

We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20 (NLT)

Over the centuries, warfare has changed, transformed if you will. It began when Cain killed Abel with a rock and then kind of took off from there. During the times described in the Bible, ancient warfare consisted mostly of armies of hundreds of thousands of men (sometimes into the millions) armed with some form of weapon like a sword, dagger, mace, bow and arrow. In addition, each warrior had some form of protection. Protection for the frontline soldiers usually involved some form of helmet, maybe some arm and leg protection, a chest plate, and a shield. It was the shield that provided the true protection. It could stop the thrust and chop of a sword, whereas the other defensive elements helped protect against a glancing blow.

However, the shield only worked if the soldier actually used it. I know, duh! But here me out. If a soldier decided to wage battle without his shield, he would be unprotected except for his ability to both attack and defend with his weapon. While Hollywood has made a great deal of money showing how this is possible, remember that Hollywood doesn’t generally show things accurately. Their job is entertainment, not information. In reality, the minute a solider lost his shield, or forgot to use it, he was a dead man. He became defenseless.

As our verse today states, “He is our help and our shield.” Given that we are in a war between supernatural forces (the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan), we will spiritually die if we decided to wage war against a force far superior to us without our Shield. We will be defenseless. Only supernatural can defeat supernatural. Only supernatural can protect against supernatural. (Again, don’t believe Hollywood on this one. Evil spirits aren’t defeated by humans, no matter how smart or strong they may be.)

When we choose to go without our shield in life, we are doomed. The enemy will strike, and we will lose. When we choose to step out from behind the protection of the shield, we are defenseless against the attacks of the enemy.

Given that the shield represents Jesus Christ, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that when we accept Jesus as our Savior, and walk hand-in-hand with Him each day, He will protect us so long as we stay behind Him. He is our protector. He is our Savior.