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PROGRAM D-7662
Lions are kings of the jungle, they say, and for sure they are powerful, dangerous animals. In 1 Peter 5:8 we read that the enemy of our soul, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone—like you—to devour.
We saw how a lion uses the cover of darkness to make his attacks, and similarly, the devil will attack us in our darkest moments, whether it is literally the dark of night or just a dark time we are going through, when we are discouraged and disheartened. He does not fight fair! He hits you when you’re down.
But a lion is most dangerous when he is hidden, when you don’t see him coming, and lions often use dense cover to make surprise attacks. His favorite targets are those who are inattentive or asleep. They are easy prey for the lion.
It’s interesting that Peter instructs us to be “self-controlled and alert” in dealing with a roaring lion. A self-controlled person refuses to let fear control her; she may feel fearful, she may have a panic moment, but if she is self-controlled, she simply refuses to allow that fear to control her response. And a person who is alert is one who is aware that her enemy will attack her when she is not expecting it, so to avoid that, she is continuously alert.
We need to face each day with the understanding that our enemy is stalking us, waiting for the perfect time to catch us unaware. Here are some typical unaware moments:
- You just experienced a great victory in your life—a prayer was answered, a problem was solved, a relationship was restored, a dream came true! In the joy of that moment, you just aren’t expecting an attack from the devil.
- You just came through a tough time and it is behind you—the health problem is now resolved, you found the job you so needed; the threat of a financial disaster has abated. Surely the enemy of your soul will leave you alone for a while, you think, and you just don’t expect his attack.
- Life has been rocking along peacefully and nicely for quite a few months now, and you think to yourself that finally you’ve got things under control and life is good. That is not a time you are expecting an ambush from the devil.
- You are totally ignorant of your enemy; you don’t even know he’s out to get you. This ignorance leaves you very vulnerable to the devil.
I want to challenge you to be alert against the enemy of your soul, this day and every day. Expect him to come at you at these unaware moments, and when he does, resist him. Remember, if you are a believer, greater is the one in you than the one in the world.