Recently, I had a girl’s night with my best friend and we watched Wonder Woman. Oh my word. That movie spoke such volumes to my soul. There is one particular scene that I’d like to share in this post. This is the scene in which, against all odds, Wonder Woman crosses No Man’s Land. No Man’s Land is positioned on the front lines of the battle. The bad guys are on one side. The good guys are on the other side. They are stuck in the trenches for protection because the onslaught of the enemy is so intense. Wonder Woman is warned that anyone who dares to step out of the protection of the trench will surely be shot down. Yet, she advances anyways. In the middle of the field, she kneels down and holds up her shield. The arrows come at her, but are deflected. Her brave stance of faith and courage makes it possible for the army behind her to advance forward into the trenches of the enemy. Incredible.
This scene provided me with a powerful picture of spiritual warfare. When Wonder Woman crossed that field and knelt down holding up her shield, it reminded me of what takes place in the spirit when we choose to hold up our shield of faith. In Ephesians 6:16, we are told, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” As we choose to put our trust and confidence in God, despite the warfare we face and despite how bad things may look, the arrows of the enemy of our soul are deflected. They will still come but they won’t be able to penetrate our hearts. Behind our barricade of faith, we find protection. Faith becomes our defense. Sometimes we may feel stuck in the middle of the field. We can’t move backwards and we can’t yet move forwards, but we can trust that our brave stance of trust and confidence is making a way for us to advance in the battle against our enemy. An army of heaven’s angels backs us. Often all God requires of us, is to duck behind our shield of faith, while the heavenly host wages war on our behalf. Our confidence rests in the fact that we know victory has already been won.
In Isaiah 30:15, we are clued in to the fact that “in quietness and trust shall be your strength.” I can be guilty of being overactive and over hyper. I’m often tempted to do, when God has asked me to wait, to rest, or to simply trust. In our society, we place great value on acting, doing and achieving. In God’s Kingdom, it’s often opposite. God places extreme value on our ability to wait on Him and to trust in Him to act on our behalf. Our faith quiets our soul. Our ability to trust God in all things, no matter what, is where our strength lies. When we choose to lay aside what we can do in our own strength, to put our full confidence in His, battles are won.
Hold up your shields brave ones. It’s time to enter No Man’s Land.
