February 07 2026

Saturday February 07

“All the Fiery Darts of the Wicked One”

Ephesians 6:16

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

Today we’re continuing to look at Ephesians 6:16. This verse is so important that we need to spend a little more time on it. We’re talking about: “Above all, above all, take up the shield of faith with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” We need to remember, as we’ve said already, that the shield of faith is that connection you and I have with the Word of God.

I’ll never forget back in 1985 or ’86, I took the time to memorize Psalm 119. It’s a long psalm—about 176 verses. I remember verses like, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against You” (v. 11). “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105). Every verse in that chapter is connected, except a couple, mentions the Word of God. Through the Word of God, we take up the shield of faith. Our faith is based on God’s truth—God’s Word. We can hold it up as a shield of protection.

Today we’re talking about those fiery darts of the wicked one. Paul says that this shield enables us to quench those darts—all of them, every one of them. In Paul’s day, the soldiers would dip arrows in pitch, set them on fire, and shoot them into the enemy. These arrows did not just pierce; they burned. They could ignite clothing, spread fire, and create chaos. Satan still uses his fiery darts today. He shoots darts into our minds and into our hearts. I’m convinced that the fiery darts of the evil one are thoughts that he is able to shoot into our minds—into our thought life.

·  These fiery darts are lies—lies from the evil one. Remember, he is a liar. He is the father of lies. He wants you to believe his lies. He has come to kill, to steal, and to destroy. He does it with deceitful lies.

·  They are doubts. He causes us to doubt the truth and goodness of God.

·  He gives us blasphemous thoughts. He wants us to think terrible things. They just fly into your mind. They come out of nowhere. You wonder, “Where did that come from?”

·  Fear and despair are a major fiery dart of the evil one. He throws fear into your heart. He makes you look at things in fear instead of looking at them with faith. Then he causes you to doubt.

·  He sends hatred and bitterness, and thoughts like, “I’m going to get even. That shouldn’t have happened to me. That’s not fair.” Thoughts of hatred come into your mind: “I hate that person. They have hurt me. They’ve given me great pain.”

·  One of the great fiery darts of the evil one is pride and envy. It makes us think we deserve more: “I’m better than everyone else. I want what everyone else has. I’m entitled.” Boy, how we have that problem today.

· Then there are the burning temptations of sin: “If you’ll do this, this will make you feel so good. If you have that money, I know you’ll have to cheat a little bit. You’ll have to lie on your income tax return, but you can get a little bit more.” He wants you to be tempted to sin—to have more, to have pleasure. Those temptations are the thoughts he puts in your mind. Someone said,  “You can’t help when a bird flies over your head, but you can do something about it when it begins to build a nest in your hair.” You can’t help these temptations. They are the darts of the evil one.

If these darts are not quenched, they’ll light a fire within us until we begin to justify sin, believe a lie, or doubt the goodness of God. That’s why Paul says we must take up the shield of faith. Today I’m simply taking time to remind us that the shield of faith will quench all the fiery darts. Those fiery darts come in a whole lot of ways—from the evil one himself and from the temptations in the world around us. They are thoughts that, if we do not deal with them and quench them, will leave us burning with sin, and we will be sorry later.

May God help us to pay attention, making sure that we are connected to God’s holy Word. Take time to memorize a lot of verses. Put one on your schedule each day that you will put in your mind instead of the lies and doubts and fears of Satan he shoots at you with his fiery darts.

God bless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.