Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:16)
In the above verse, the shield of faith will quench the fiery darts of the wicked.
Have you ever wondered what are the fiery darts of the wicked?
Before we explore fiery darts, let us first define the wicked.
According to the Bible, the wicked are evil doers and workers of iniquity. (See Psalms 37)
The wicked are those who do not keep the ways of the Lord.
What are the ways of the Lord?
Yesterday’s devotional explore the ways of the Lord.
In case you miss it, you can get it here.
The Bible also speaks about the wicked one. This implies that the Bible is referring to a particular person or being.
We all know that Satan is the adversary of God and man. Therefore, we can assume that the wicked one is referring to Satan.
In the parable of the Sower, the birds devoured the seeds that fell by the wayside.
Jesus later told His desciples that the birds referred to the wicked one who came and snatched away the seed (Word of God) out of the hearts of people who heard the Word but did not understand it. (See Matthew 13: 1-23)
Satan or the wicked one is prowling like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.
Like a hungry lion, Satan will pounce and attack his victims, and he will also shoot fiery darts to weaken his prey.
These fiery darts not only pierce the victims but they burst into flames and burn them to death.
We can think of many things that represent the fiery darts that Satan used against God’s people.
However, today we will identify five of the most deadly fiery darts.
These are the darts that defiled Satan and dragged him down from his once lofty position in heaven.
Thus, Satan used these same darts to shoot at God’s people to gradually poison their mind until eventually they are destroyed.
Fiery darts of the wicked one
1. Pride
This is number one on the list.
Pride appears innocent, but it is the deadliest of them all.
The Bible says that pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
Therefore, if Satan can shoot some pride at you then most naturally you will be defeated and eventually destroyed.
Even if by your own hands you manage to climb to the top, as soon as pride gets inside of you, your downfall is certain.
For more information on pride and how you can get rid of it, read: Tearing down the walls of pride.
2. Deception
Deception follows pride. They both go hand in hand.
When a person is filled with pride, he first deceived himself by thinking that he is something when he is nothing. (See Galatians 6:3)
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. (Obadiah 1:3-4)
The fiery darts of deception have spread throughout the world.
People are easily deceived by vanity, worldly pleasures, demonic doctrines, false teachings, false christs.
But, the worst deception of all is the antichrist spirit that is already in the world.
This is a wicked spirit! You cannot fully understand how terrible it is until you see it in action for yourself.
Satan shoots this dart mostly on leaders both in the churches and the secular arena.
Read more about the evil spirit of deception and how to overcome it – Overcoming deception and The age of deception.
3. Rejection
Satan shoots the evil spirit of rejection mostly on children and teens, particularly the male seed.
He shoots the rejection dart at the children who are victims of broken homes as a result of divorce or separation.
Thus, resulting in children who are disobedient and rebellious.
These youths often exhibit behavioral problems such as anger, psychosis, depression and suicidal behavior.
Another group of people who Satan takes pleasure in shooting the rejection darts are backsliders and those who have fallen away from the faith.
To learn more about the evil spirit of rejection read: Three ways to tell when the Spirit of God has left you.
4. Loneliness
The spirit of loneliness is inevitable when rejection sets in.
Some people believe that loneliness is a part of life and everybody will feel lonely at some point in time.
The devil is a liar!
Loneliness is a fiery dart from the devil himself.
How can a child of God be lonely when your heavenly Father said that He will never leave you nor forsake you?
Thus, God placed His Word (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit in your heart.
How can you be lonely when you have the Holy Spirit living in your heart, communing with you twenty-four/seven?
You only need to listen keenly and you will hear Him speak to you in a still small voice.
To understand more about the evil spirit of loneliness read: Only God can fill you.
5. Fear
Oh yes! Fear! This is a huge dart with a blaze that is hard to extinguish.
Sometimes you think that you put out the fire only to see it raise its ugly head again from the ashes.
This fiery dart targets your mind to cause torment and insanity.
Do not underestimate the evil spirit of fear and in no circumstances play around with phobia.
Cease from boasting to friends that, “I am acrophobia, aerophobia, claustrophobia, haemophobia” or “I am terrified of lizards, cockroaches, rats etc, etc.”
As you speak those negative words you immediately receive the fiery dart of fear straight into your heart.
Then the flames ignite and spread to your entire being.
However, there is still hope for you because love – the perfect love of Jesus Christ – in your heart will extinguish the flames of fear.
To read more about the evil spirit of fear and how to conquer it, read: Seven reasons not to fear and Conquering fear.
All of the above fiery darts including those that I have not mentioned can all be quenched by the shield of faith.
Glory to God!
I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. (1 John 2:13-14)
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
References: Matthew 24; 2 John 1; 1 John 4
Over to you
Share with us other fiery darts of the wicked one.
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