Vigilant and Steadfast

If you are a member of the body of Christ, get ready to face a mad devil. You may not want to think about it or even accept it, but if you have determined to follow Jesus with all your heart, Satan has marked you for destruction. He’s going to flood your life with troubles of all kinds.

The apostle Peter warns, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7, NKJV). He is saying, in essence, “This is no time for lightness. You have to get sober-minded about spiritual matters. It is an issue of life and death.”

Why the need to be so serious? The end of time is near and our enemy has turned up the heat. He is stalking us like a lion, hiding in the grass, waiting for an opportunity to pounce. He wants to devour us, to utterly destroy our faith in Christ.

Some Christians say we shouldn’t even talk about the devil and that we’re better off just ignoring him. Others try to reason him out of existence. Liberal theologians, for example, argue that there is no devil, no hell, no heaven.

But the enemy of our souls is not simply going to go away. He is described in the Bible as Lucifer, Satan, devil, deceiver, hinderer, wicked one, usurper, imposter, accuser, devourer, and ruler of darkness. These emphatic descriptions tell me that the devil is real.

We know from Scripture that Satan wields a very real power. Even now, he is at work on the earth in our nations, cities, churches, homes, and individual lives. We dare not be ignorant of his methods and strategies of warfare against us.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).