Ephesians 6:16-17
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

We are not standing in the middle of this battlefield exposed to enemy fire and vulnerable to his attacks.  We have protection from the one who seeks to hurt us the most.  The shield of faith covers our whole body and is strong and able to repel all those fiery darts without being damaged by them.  Because we are not just standing behind a piece of metal, but God Himself is our shield, and with God on our side, the wicked is powerless.

Satan’s most direct attacks would seek to destroy our faith, because if we doubt God or His goodness, His power or His love and start trusting something else, we’ll never be able to resist the devil.  If we went in our own strength, we’d have nothing to keep him from hurting us, but when we trust God to shield us, that burning fire of destruction is extinguished before it gets anywhere near us.  Our God is able to protect us from everything we could never face on our own.

And we don’t just hunker down on defense, fending off Satan’s attacks, but we also have a weapon to diminish his power and influence, to cut down his strength, to actively oppose him and combat all of his lies.  The gleaming sword of truth, tempered by His Spirit, straight and sharp and pure within itself, is the best weapon we have to hurt the evil one and his cause.  It is a piercing dagger through the heart of darkness, and we as Christ’s soldiers must wield it with skill.

The Word of God has immeasurable power over that crafty villain we face in this world.  It is pure and holy truth that overcomes all of Satan’s lies.  It shines bright with the righteousness of Christ to make the darkness flee.  It is powerfully alive with the Spirit of God to weaken evil’s influence on our hearts and minds.  It is a strategic plan to win the battle.  It is wisdom to make the right choices.  It is nourishment for our souls.  It is Christ with us, on our side, making our enemies flee.  We are in a battle, and evil is gunning for us, so what are we relying on?