"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16)

In this letter to the church of Ephesus, Paul is talking about all the ways God has provided for His people in the midst of their trials and temptations. This church not only faced persecution, but they were also infiltrated by false teachers who are spreading lies and bad theology. As Paul listed out items of God's armor for His saints, he starts with truth, then righteousness, then the gospel of peace, all of which are fully provided for us in Jesus. You don't have to gather this armor on your own. The next bit of armor God gives us is the shield of faith. When the enemy shoots his allies at us, we hold up our faith in Jesus as the response. Guess what? That faith is a gift to earlier in this very letter Paul tells us that God is the one who gives us the gift of faith. God has provided for us abundantly. He's where the joy is!