WATCHING FOR LIONS

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
(1 Peter 5:8)

MEDITATION:
If you were walking through a jungle infested with ravenous lions,
would you be careful to look where you walked?
Would you be serious about being wary of the possible dangers?

We can understand why Peter warns us of the viciousness of the evil one.
Satan is the bitterest enemy of God and His people.
If we do not understand how bitter our enemy is,
we’re not going to be prepared to defend ourselves.

The devil’s cleverest trick is to make us believe he doesn’t exist,
or that he is not really as vicious as he really is.
He has convinced many to laugh at the idea of a devil.
We name football teams various kinds of devils.
We name food – deviled ham, devil’s food cake.

Some get the idea that the devil is similar to a comic book character
who wears long red underwear, with horns and a forked tail,
carrying a pitch fork to poke someone from behind.
Satan is behind that line of thinking as part of his effort
to make us believe that he doesn’t exist, or is not an ominous threat to us.

He is very real and his goal is to create separation
between us and the goodness of our God who loves us.
The threat of Satan ruining our lives
is the reason Jesus included this statement when He told us how to pray.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:13)

Satan has no boundaries to his evilness and even tried to tempt Jesus.
However Jesus quoted scripture in order to drive the evil one from His presence.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written:
‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)

But that was not the end of his efforts to tempt the Son of God (his adversary)!
His strategy is to be relentless in his temptations,
so he may leave for a time, but will return later with renewed efforts.
Look at his plan for tempting Jesus Christ.
When the devil had finished all this tempting,
he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)

Did he return to tempt the Lord again?
Yes he did, and this time he tried to tempt Him through a friend (Peter),
However Jesus is a formidable foe, and could see through his cleverness.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said.
“This shall never Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:22-23)

ACTION:
If Satan was brazen enough to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ,
then we can be sure that he will tempt us as well.
He has a destructive mindset and will be relentless in his efforts
to create a chasm between us and the love of our Lord and Savior.
He is cunning (skilled in achieving one’s ends through indirect,
subtle, or underhanded means), and knows our weaknesses and when to tempt.

It is no surprise that Peter gave us the image of a roaring lion.
Lions stalk out their prey, identify the weaker ones,
and attack at the appropriate time when their prey is most vulnerable.
The difference between Satan and lions is,
Satan attacks the strong as well as the weak.
Without the strength of the Lord, we remain vulnerable to his attacks
which can bring us into submission and bondage to his temptations at any time.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know more about the evil one that I could ever
know. You know his strengths and strategies, and You know my weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I call on You to stand between Satan and me, so that I can have victory whenever he attacks and tries to damage my fellowship with You. Thank You Lord for Your promise to never leave me or forsake me.”