Vigilant

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8    

We have an enemy.  An unseen, evil enemy, with lots of assistants.  

This enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, an image which tells us he is fierce, dangerous, hungry and ever-ready to inflict harm.  

The devil is not just a roaring lion but he is a roaring lion seeking someone to devour and that someone includes you.  He and his minions want to devour you, hurt you, destroy you.  They want to distance you from God in any way possible, through deception, accusation, condemnation and temptation.  They want to convince you that God isn’t good, that God cannot be trusted, that God is mad at you, that God is disappointed in you, that God doesn’t really love you, that God is a cosmic killjoy.  

Satan wants to destroy your marriage and convince you that some other spouse would be much better for you.  He tries to persuade you that God wants you to be happy so you had better get a divorce.  He seeks to bring unforgiveness, anger, pride, debt, fear and guilt into your marriage.  

In these ways, and all kinds of other ways, Satan is out to devour your soul, ruin your family and damage your spiritual life.  

What do we do?  Wake up and fight the battle!  Be vigilant!  Be alert!  Be aware that there is a battle, that there is an opponent, that he is real.  

If you were on a cruise ship, you could drift off to sleep and take a nap.  But you are on a battleship and you had better be fully alert, scanning the horizon for signs of the enemy.  

If you don’t pray, often, that God would protect you and your family from the enemy, then you are not alert and vigilant.  If you are not aware that the voices in your head that condemn you, accuse you, tempt you and lie to you, are voices of the enemy, then you are not alert and vigilant.  If you are not aware that conflicts and misunderstandings are at times caused or exacerbated by the enemy, then you are not vigilant.  

We don’t focus on the enemy but we are aware of the enemy and his schemes.  Be alert and vigilant!