Dare 2 Share - "Yes, I came face to face with a lion once. To make matters worse, I was alone and weaponless..."
"Goodness! What did you do?"
"What could I do? First I tried looking straight into his eyeballs, but he kept crawling up on me. Then I thought of plunging my arm down his throat, grabbing him by the tail and turning him inside out, but I decided it would be too dangerous. Yet, he kept creeping up on me; I had to think fast..."
"How did you get away?"
"I just left him and passed on to the other cages."
Have you ever wondered why the Apostle Peter describes Satan as a lion? Probably because he was very familiar with the Prince and Power of the air, and he would have also known about the King of the beasts- so naturally he made some comparisons. For example, lions are incredibly intelligent and sneaky to boot. They also rule whatever land area they happen to be residing in, because when they move in- every other animal instantly becomes a menu item. Peter had also personally witnessed friends being torn to shreds by lions in the Roman coliseum- so he knows what he’s talking about.
Satan is also amazingly intelligent. In fact, he is the most powerful being ever created. At this very moment he is ‘on the prowl’; ready to pounce on a napping believer, which is why Peter gives us such a strong warning:
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)
The problem is that many Christians are like the person in the dialogue mentioned at the beginning. They have all the bravery in the world facing him because they think he is behind bars.
Here’s some important information: in the spiritual world you cannot simply move to the next cage. Satan is loose in this world, and believers who are "prayer less" and "Bible less" are on the top of his menu list.
I have personally seen the testimonies of some of my friends ripped to shreds by the evil one, and to be honest with you- it is quite frightening. Every time it happened the same way: skip church here, ignore your devotions and prayer life there- basically fall asleep in your walk. If this is happening to you, start listening-because you may here the lion’s roar right before he very soon attacks you.
Or you could choose to “be alert and self-controlled”. Basically, this means get your head on straight! Don’t mess around with ungodly people, stay involved in your church and youth group, talk to God all the time, memorize Scripture, and don’t forget your spiritual armor. All this will at least get you ready for his attacks, and when they occur, you’ll be ready to take the next step that God commands:
Resist him, standing firm in the faith (I Peter 5:9)
It’s pretty difficult to avoid a lion if he’s looking for you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t resist him in the power of the Lord. If you keep Jesus close to your side, you will have a Defender at the ready when the devil is looking for an easy meal.
So if you happen to come face to face with Satan the lion this week, make sure that you aren’t alone and weaponless, because those bars are imaginary, and those teeth are real!
Questions:
1) How well are you doing at being self-controlled and alert?
2) What areas of your life might smell good to a hungry lion right now?
3) In what specific ways are you resisting Satan right now?
