Have you ever thought about the devil as a lion? No doubt if you’ve run across this passage you’ve acknowledged the comparison, but have you ever stopped to think about lions? We are told in this verse that the “devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”, and that got me to thinking…How do lions hunt? When looking for information I came across this interesting fact:
“Lions are active during the day and at night but they prefer hunting at night.”*
Think about that…they are active both day and night but they prefer hunting at night. Since the devil is compared to a lion let’s look at how this fact applies to our “adversary” shall we? The way I see it is that the devil prefers to hunt us at our weakest point (that is to say our weakest point in our daily walk with God) but, he’ll hunt us even when we’re at our strongest point. Give that some thought…the devil ones to get you to fall when you’re already at your lowest point. Maybe you’ve been having a bad day, or you got a bad grade, or you got passed up for a job promotion, or anything else that get you to feeling down in the dumps, whatever it may be, Satan wants to use that to get you to turn away from the faith! A scary thought though is knowing that even though Satan wants to get you when you’re ‘down in the dumps’ spiritually, he’ll attack you when you’re on a ‘spiritual high’ (for lack of a better term)! I can see why Peter stressed being “sober-minded” and “watchful!” It’s because the devil will try and get you anytime, and anywhere he can! The devil is an opportunist! He takes every chance he’ll get!
With this thought in mind this week I want to ask that you’ll try and avoid situations that could lead to the devil getting a hold of you easier. In other words, avoid situations that could lead to sin! Whether that be hanging out with some people that you probably shouldn’t, or going to a movie you probably shouldn’t be going to. If you think there’s a chance that a temptation you have will turn into sin, then do your best to avoid that situation! We need to be watchful for the devil, because I promise you he’s on the hunt! -Jack D.
* lion fact and picture found at http://www.facts-about.org.uk/zz-animals-lions.htm
Hey Jack. Thanks for this post. And I am among those that never really looked at why the lion image works here. Thanks for enlightening me brother! Keep up the GOD work sir. You are a tremendous asset. Not only here at BV but also in the Lord's Kingdom! Keep it up! God bless!
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