On Alert
Last summer my friend, Stephenie and I went on a business trip to Philadelphia. During our free time we were able to walk and enjoy some of the sites of the historic downtown area, the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall and Betsy Ross' home. It was absolutely awe inspiring and beautiful to see all of those places, but as we moved further into the center of the city the atmosphere changed significantly. The buildings were architecturally beautiful, but the city was a buzz with some very different types of people. Many of which looked, for lack of a better word, unsavory.
As two women traveling alone in an unfamiliar city we began to feel somewhat uncomfortable-that was until we decided that we would pull our containers of mace from the bottom of our cross over bags and put them in our pocket. At any given time one of us was on alert-if I was reading the street map Stephenie was watching with the mace ready to spray in an instant. Once, while my hands were loaded down and waiting for a transit bus, a man approach me and began a very odd conversation. Immediately, I became very uneasy-that was until I looked and saw Stephenie had worked her way to the other side of the man and had her hand in her pocket ready to take aim and fire the mace if needed.
It was difficult to tell that day who meant us harm so we stood on the alert with almost everyone. Often it is difficult to identify a possible enemy on the streets, but there is no doubt that we all have an enemy in our life and it is Satan. God's Word says,
Although the lion certainly hunts all day a large part of his hunting is done at night. In the dark it is less likely that the lion will be spotted by his prey, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Satan operates the same way. All of us have experienced dark times in our lives. These make us vulnerable for the attacks Satan launches against us. He begins his well devised tactical plan to attack us when we are discouraged, hurt, frustrated, angry, lonely or even feel unloved. He begins in our mind by feeding us his lies just as he did in the beginning with Eve in the garden and before we know it -he comes in for the kill.
We don't have to be out in the dark. We have access to The Light. Scripture tells us that,
Another fact about the lion's hunting methods is that the single lion has the greatest chance to kill when they encounter an animal that is alone and caught by surprise. You may think, "I am never alone!! I have to lock myself in the bathroom just to get some privacy!" This picture of the lion's prey is symbolic in our lives of when we are out of fellowship with other believers. One of Satan's most effective tools is isolation. He is aware if we stay away from godly friends he can begin to plant his lies in our minds and bring us down. With godly friends to surround us and affirm God's truths in our life, we are less subceptable to attack.
As two women traveling alone in an unfamiliar city we began to feel somewhat uncomfortable-that was until we decided that we would pull our containers of mace from the bottom of our cross over bags and put them in our pocket. At any given time one of us was on alert-if I was reading the street map Stephenie was watching with the mace ready to spray in an instant. Once, while my hands were loaded down and waiting for a transit bus, a man approach me and began a very odd conversation. Immediately, I became very uneasy-that was until I looked and saw Stephenie had worked her way to the other side of the man and had her hand in her pocket ready to take aim and fire the mace if needed.
It was difficult to tell that day who meant us harm so we stood on the alert with almost everyone. Often it is difficult to identify a possible enemy on the streets, but there is no doubt that we all have an enemy in our life and it is Satan. God's Word says,
"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8We do not have an imaginary enemy. He is real. He possesses cunning and intelligence and John 10:10 says his goal is to steal, kill and destroy. So if Peter compares Satan to a lion then let's look at some of the lion's hunting tactics and see the similarities between it and our enemy Satan.
Although the lion certainly hunts all day a large part of his hunting is done at night. In the dark it is less likely that the lion will be spotted by his prey, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Satan operates the same way. All of us have experienced dark times in our lives. These make us vulnerable for the attacks Satan launches against us. He begins his well devised tactical plan to attack us when we are discouraged, hurt, frustrated, angry, lonely or even feel unloved. He begins in our mind by feeding us his lies just as he did in the beginning with Eve in the garden and before we know it -he comes in for the kill.
We don't have to be out in the dark. We have access to The Light. Scripture tells us that,
"God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5
God has provided a way to illuminate our path through His Word and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This enables us to be aware of the devil's schemes and resist him.
Satan's entire plan is to harm you and me. If you are not a believer, he wants to assure you never come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and spend eternity in hell. If you are a believer, he can't snatch you out of God's hand (John 10:28), but he can certainly render you all but useless for the kingdom. Satan is the master of head games-he wants to get in your head and get it so messed up that you question everything you had believed to be true about God. He wants to take that discouragement and make you believe that you worship a God who is somehow disconnected from your circumstances. He wants to make you question God's goodness and that He is truly in love with you.
Another fact about the lion's hunting methods is that the single lion has the greatest chance to kill when they encounter an animal that is alone and caught by surprise. You may think, "I am never alone!! I have to lock myself in the bathroom just to get some privacy!" This picture of the lion's prey is symbolic in our lives of when we are out of fellowship with other believers. One of Satan's most effective tools is isolation. He is aware if we stay away from godly friends he can begin to plant his lies in our minds and bring us down. With godly friends to surround us and affirm God's truths in our life, we are less subceptable to attack.
"Two are better than one, becasue they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up." Ecclesiatstes 4:9-10If we knew there was a lion loose in our neightborhood we would avoid going out alone in the night. We certainly wouldn't go out without a weapon. In Ephesians 6 we find the spiritual armor of God listed. All of the weapons listed with the exception of one are defensive. The weapon we possess, that one that we have to defeat the enemy is the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Now that, Praise God, is more powerful than any container of mace!!!!
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