When the Arrows Come, Shield Up

Last week, I had the privilege of standing on a football field with the Columbus Crusaders Middle School Football Team for chapel.

No stage.

No spotlight.

Just young men, coaches, helmets, grass, and the Word of God.

And one question:

How do you fight something you cannot see?

Football teaches preparation.

You lift before the fourth quarter.

You learn the play before the ball is snapped.

You condition before exhaustion arrives.

You train before the hit.

And our spiritual lives require the same intentionality.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:

“Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Notice what Scripture does not say.

It does not say the arrows will stop.

Fear comes.

Pressure comes.

Comparison comes.

Temptation comes.

Doubt comes.

Failure comes.

Faith does not mean the battle disappears.

Faith means the battle does not get to decide who we become.

That was the message I wanted these young men to carry with them:

TRAIN. SHIELD. STAND. PRAY.

TRAIN.

Prepare your faith before the pressure comes. Spend time in Scripture. Renew your mind. Be careful about what is shaping you.

SHIELD.

When the arrows start flying, trust what God says more than what the moment is telling you.

STAND.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is choosing what is right while fear is still standing there.

PRAY.

Stand for what you can do. Pray to God for what only He can do.

There was one more lesson that mattered on that field.

Look beside you.

We are not meant to stand alone.

A strong teammate does not expose someone who is struggling. He gets beside him.

And that lesson reaches far beyond football.

Strong people do not only stand. They help other people stand.

Someday, every player takes off the helmet for the final time.

The pads come off.

The crowds go home.

But the person we are becoming goes with us.

That is why the daily decisions matter.

What are we listening to?

What are we believing?

What are we choosing when nobody is watching?

And where do we stand when life gets hard?

The goal is not to build a life where nothing ever comes against us.

The goal is to become the kind of people who know where to stand when it does.

When the arrows come,

Shield up.

Your friend,
Brock

P.S. Someone around you may be carrying a battle you cannot see. This week, look for one opportunity to get beside them. Encourage them. Pray for them. Remind them they do not have to stand alone.