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Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Satan is no play or pretend thing. He and his power are real and intended to harm. But rather than spending our time worrying about him, let’s resist him when we are tempted and focus on Jesus. He’s the one who won the big showdown at Calvary, triumphing over Satan. He took Satan’s greatest tool and disarmed it. Now we can resist and Satan will flee.
My Prayer…
Thank you, Almighty God, for sending Jesus to break Satan’s stranglehold over us. Through the Savior’s death you have assured me that mine won’t be the end of our relationship, but the beginning of life with you. Today, however, I ask that you help me especially resist Satan’s power over my life in the following ways… Through power and in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Bible References
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Peter is warning believers here in our verses for today to be alert to the tricks and schemes of satan. While we are not to live in fear of him, or with a worrisome heart, we should not be blasé about him either. We are to be mindful of his purpose and that is to trip us up and destroy our lives and testimony for Christ.
I love to learn about animals in Africa, I am a big cat fan and am always amazed at the power and strength of lions, tigers, and cheetahs. They are very cunning hunters and stalk their prey well by hiding behind things like bushes and such that look very normal to the unsuspecting gazelle. They will pick off the weak and young many times because they usually stray from the safety of the rest of their herd.
There is a great lesson here for us as Christians, just like the gazelle who is devoured by a big cat because he is grazing away from his herd and unaware of the present danger, so are we when we stray from God and spend time immersed in ungodly things and with ungodly people. We are easy pickings for the devil when we get so familiar with this world and its ways and then are desensitized to the Holy Spirit within us which results in not standing firm in our faith! Satan then devours our life for Christ, and brings havoc to our lives.
However, when we stand firm in Christ by reading and obeying His Word, by staying in constant communication with Him through prayer, and by surrounding ourselves with a network of godly Christians, satan is stopped cold in his tracks! The devil is not more powerful than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Our precious Savior has already defeated the devil at the cross, and our victory over satan can only be found in a life that is Christ-centered for He is where our power to resist the evil one comes from.
There is something a little comforting about knowing that you are not the only one who goes through suffering or trials in life, isn’t there? Peter reminds his readers in the last part of our passage today that there are brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world who are going through the very same things as we are, some even worse! One of satan’s devices is to discourage us with the thought that our troubles are unique. As we go through trials and tribulations it is easy to have the mistaken idea that no one else has as much trouble as we are presently having. Peter puts that idea to rest by saying that many are experiencing the same turmoil as we are.
So, draw courage from Christ who is more than capable of taking care of us. Trust in God who has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). And stand firm in the knowledge that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)!
Thank You Lord Jesus for dying for my sin, thank You for defeating satan with Your precious blood that flowed down that cross for my forgiveness. I love you so my Savior, my Sustainer, the Author and Finisher of my faith! Amen.