Ben Lenz, associate pastor and director of leadership development at Community Church, has been the target of his share of flaming arrows over the past year.
After the suicide in December of his father, Pastor Bill Lenz of Christ the Rock Church in Menasha, Ben has become painfully aware of the reality of Ephesians 6:16.
That verse instructs us to "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
For Ben, the death of his father came as a complete shock. There was no note, no final message, no explanation.
"We couldn’t understand anything of what happened,” Ben said during his message at Green Bay Community Church on Sunday, July 15.
"Every day since has been confusion, loss, shock, questions. The shock has not worn off yet. Grief is no straight line. You hit this stage, go back a few steps, then one day is OK, then it hits you all over again. None of it makes sense to me.”
Through it all, Ben remains certain of one thing. "God still invites me to trust him, despite anything I am experiencing.
"I have a lot of questions. But with everything I have given him, he has been faithful to me and my family. Nobody expected this … all the layers are hard to unpeel."
Ben knows, based on Ephesians 6:16, that Satan fired flaming arrows at his father. They came from the pit of hell, according to Ben, and included lies like this: "You failed, as a pastor, as a person. You’re stupid. You don’t deserve God’s love. This will never get better for you. You should end this.”
In the aftermath of his father’s death, Ben became the object of Satan’s attacks with lies such as this: “You should have done more to save him. Somehow this is your fault. You can’t trust God, when you need him the most.”
Ben said Satan doesn’t mess around. He isn’t using toy darts. He’s like a prowling lion that is intent on devouring and destroying us.
Ben said Satan has a vast array of flaming arrows in his arsenal:
*He tempts us by using anything that draws us away from God, the truth and each other. The mark of temptation is isolation.
*He deceives us and we don’t even know it because he’s so sly and good at it. He’s covert and undetected like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
*He’s a destroyer and wants to ruin our lives. He’s a thief that steals our dignity, relationships and joy.
*He’s an accuser and will induce us to fight against each other.
When Satan is slinging flaming arrows our way, he aims for our desires and our hearts.
Shame is one of the most powerful weapons he uses. It’s not Godly shame, when we do something wrong and humbly ask for God’s forgiveness. Rather, it’s a shame that doesn’t go away.
The difference between guilt and shame is that guilt says you’ve done something wrong, shame says you are something wrong.
Our shield against Satan’s fiery attacks is faith. It’s not our own strength or efforts or religious practices. We have nothing without faith in Jesus alone. He protects us.
We need to put on the shield of faith for the times Satan’s flaming arrows fly toward us.
