“Satan don’t fight fair…” I don’t know why this should come as a surprise, but it just struck me suddenly… he doesn’t fight fair! He’s not interested in the gentlemanly rules of combat. He won’t wait to strike until your guard is up. He won’t hesitate to hit you while you’re down. He is interested in only one thing: your destruction.
I 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 describes Satan as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. You know, our enemy is not sitting still, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for his final doom in the lake of fire. He’s on the war path. He’s sneaking around, ready to attack, longing to destroy whenever he gets the chance. And he just “don’t fight fair!”
So, what’s the answer? Peter tells us to be self controlled and alert. Don’t be caught napping! Be on your guard. Have your weapons and defenses ready, so that when the attack comes, you will not fall. How do you stand firm in the faith? By being firmly rooted in the Scriptures, so that when the trials come, you will not be shaken. By seeking God constantly through His Word and through prayer.
Earlier on in I Peter, the apostle Peter wrote, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hopes fully on the grace to be given you when Christ Jesus is revealed.” Just as a soldier at the front wouldn’t dream of sleeping on duty, we must stay alert and awake, and prepare for battle. We must expect attack because we are at war, fighting against a ruthless enemy who hates us because we bear the name of Christ.
I Timothy 6:12a says to “Fight the good fight of the faith…” We are at war. We will be attacked. We must be ready.
Peter tells us to “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Knowing that we are not alone in our trials, however small or large they may be, is immensely comforting and gives us strength to stand firm.
And yet, we must not try to face trials on our own strength, because our own strength is not enough. Thankfully, we are not left on our own.
“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (v. 10-11)
He, the God of grace, will restore us and make us strong. Oh what an amazingly comforting promise! What a beautiful verse. I want to read it again and again! Though we suffer trials throughout this whole life (which we will), they last but a little while compared to the eternal glory we will have in Christ; a momentary pang, an instant’s sorrow, then He will restore us and make us strong.
And even in the midst of the trial, we are not left to face the enemy on our own… The One who defeated the enemy stands by our side.
To Him be the power for ever and ever. Thank you Lord!
Just some things that I’ve been learning lately… I guess that’s generally what my blog posts are about, the things that the Lord has been teaching me lately in my own life!
~ A Servant of the King
To the praise of His glory.
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