................................................................................................................................................
Lysa TerKeurst
“Be sober-minded;
be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
I’m not a fan of lions. Not. At.
All.
They aren’t picky with their food
choices.
Whether you’re a gazelle that got
separated from your herd or an uninformed human sleeping in a tent where lions
roam, they’ll think you look amazing.
I got to experience this
terrifying truth firsthand when my family and I decided to go back to the
continent where my two sons were born and do mission work.
The guides assured us the lions
wouldn’t come.
Not true.
Right when I was flirting with
the edges of sleep, a creature brushed the length of my tent and — wait for it
— roared!
As he brushed the tent again just
inches from my head, my mind fired off one imagined scene after another of
horrific outcomes.
Though I never stepped outside
the tent or touched a beast of any sort, I suffered a brutal attack of the
mind.
I wrestled that lion. And
lost. Because I let him get the best of my thoughts.
But, please know, you don’t have
to go to a foreign land to get stalked by a lion.
We see this in
today’s passage of Scripture when Peter warns believers, “Be sober-minded;
be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
The enemy isn’t just looking to
distract you, or tempt you, or pull you slightly off course. He’s looking
to devour you.
But we must remember something
crucial. The devil is vicious, but he’s not victorious. And you, my friend,
have everything you need to defeat him.
We don’t have to lie shaking in
our beds with a death grip on the covers, feeling powerless and deathly afraid.
A closer look at 1 Peter 5:8-9
shows us how we can actually come out on the other side of these moments with
the enemy tested and true.
Peter first
tells us we must be “sober-minded” and “watchful.”
This reminder to be sober-minded,
or self-controlled, shows up three separate times in this letter. (1 Peter 1:13,
4:7 and 5:8)
The specific
reason given in 1 Peter 4:7 is that “the end of all things is at hand.”
Satan knows the end is fast
approaching. He is a defeated foe who has already suffered a fatal blow.
But before he falls, he’ll try to
make as many last kills as possible. With everything he’s got left, he’s coming
after us. This is why we must be ever watchful.
Next, Peter
instructs us in 1 Peter 5:9a to “resist him [the devil].”
It is the same reminder we find
in Ephesians 6:11 and James 4:7.
We cannot remain passive in this
fight. We must actively resist the devil by standing firm in our faith.
And we find the power to stand
firm in our faith when we put on the full armor of God. (Ephesians
6:10-20)
Finally, Peter
encourages us with the knowledge that “the same kinds of suffering are
being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9b,
ESV).
We aren’t alone in this battle.
Instead, we are knit together as a body of believers both by our shared love
for Christ and our shared suffering for Him.
Obviously, most of us don’t have
lions regularly brush by our homes, but we do have daily brushes with the
enemy.
And just like the lion’s power
over me that night stopped the minute the guards showed up, Satan is rendered
powerless the moment we tap into the power of God’s Word like we’re doing
today.
Yes, truth is the perfect
protection against our enemy.
Let’s remember this. Receive
this. Use this. Practice this. Live this.
Father God, I’m
so thankful You haven’t left us defenseless. Your promises are always a perfect
match for our problems. And our problem-instigator, the devil — the one
Scripture says roams around like a lion — is no match for Your promises. Your
promises don’t tame the lion; they shame the lion back to hell. They shut his
mouth. Turn his roar into a whimper. And make him run when we choose to live by
Your Word and Your ways. Guide us, equip us and infuse us with holy confidence
as we stand firm today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY
James 4:7, “Submit
yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES
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with Lysa TerKeurst’s book, Uninvited. Order your copy here today.
Looking for a dynamic speaker who
can connect with your audience at your next event? Proverbs 31 has its own
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CONNECT
Check out Lysa TerKeurst’s speaking
schedule to see if she’ll be in a town near you.
REFLECT AND RESPOND
What is one area of your life
where you need to use God’s Word to quiet the enemy? Share any Scripture you’ve
been using with us here today.
Lysa TerKeurst is president of
Proverbs 31 Ministries and the New York Times best-selling author
of Uninvited, The Best Yes, Unglued, Made to Crave, and 16
other books.
As president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, Lysa
and her team have led thousands to make their walk with God an invigorating
journey through daily online devotionals, radio programs, online Bible studies,
speaker/writing training, and more.
Lysa was recently awarded the Champions of
Faith Author Award and has been published in multiple publications such
as Focus on the Family and CNN online. Additionally, she has appeared
on the Today Show as one of the leading voices in the Christian
community.
Each year, Lysa is a featured keynote
presenter at more than 40 events across North America, including the Women of
Joy Conferences and the Catalyst Leadership Conference. She has a passion for
equipping women to share their stories for God’s glory through Proverbs 31
Ministries’ annual She Speaks Conference and writer training program, COMPEL:
Words That Move People.
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