“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, SEEKING SOMEONE TO 1DEVOUR.” (1 Pet. 5:8) 1katapinō: chew up and swallow.
Our enemy the devil desires to devour us, to cause very real, lasting harm. Peter has made it clear that our place in eternity with our Father is secure. The devil cannot take that from us, but he does SEEK TO DESTROY OUR FAITH. He wants fear to interrupt our submission to the Father, and lies to distort our understanding of God’s goodness. Since He cannot touch the believer’s soul, Satan CONTINUOUSLY seeks to leave us as WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE servants of God.
“The Lord will save me FROM EVERY EVIL ATTACK. He will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.” (2Tim. 4:18)
How will He save us from these constant evil attacks? WE MUST CONSTANTLY, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…take up THE SHIELD OF FAITH, to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one…take THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is THE WORD OF GOD.” (Eph. 6:11-17) WE MUST CONSTANTLY, CONSISTENTLY AND PASSIONATELY PURSUE INTIMACY WITH OUR ABBA FATHER, so we will, “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEART. DO NOT depend on our own understanding…” (Pro 3:5-6)
THE DEVIL TEMPTS US TO OCCASIONALLY PRAY AND READ THE WORD BUT WE MUST DO IT CONSTANTLY…
-Bill Stockham