Stealthily Being Pursued
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)
O, how we need to listen and take heed to this message from Peter. We have been warned to be very serious, sensible and cautious as it relates to the evil one. Peter goes on in verse 9 of the 5th chapter to tell us to fight against him with all our might, always standing firm in our faith (Hebrews 10:23, 1 Corinthians 16:13, 1 Timothy 6:12, James 4:7-10, Ephesians 6:10-17).
The devil is not interested in our wellbeing, he does not want us to have soul prosperity. It is essential that we learn and be aware that the devil has the ability to be whatever he wants to be in his effort to devour us. He can be that subtle serpent he was in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). or as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:12-14, the devil can disguise himself as an angel of light.
While there are no actual recorded events where the devil transformed himself into an angel of light, Paul does present this as an indisputable truth, thereby warning us of how great the power of the devil is in being able to twist spiritual truths into lies that appear to be truth. By doing so he often brings ruin into the lives of people today and perhaps. most important, eternal ruin after death. Make no mistake, the devil has practiced his art of delusion for thousands of years and even now he is going to and fro, walking on the earth practicing his art of deception (Job 1:7, 1 Peter 5:8).
The devil has something for everyone whether it be the sinner, or the good, moral person or the religious person or even a member of the Lord's church. Seriously consider passages such as Eph. 5:1-6, Col. 2:6-8, Matt. 7:13-23, Matt. 15:9 and 2 Pet. 2:1-3. No one is exempt from his efforts to deceive and destroy. There is but one end to all who fall prey to the devil and that end is misery and destruction (1 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
To successfully resist the devil, we must have an attitude of absolute commitment to love and serve the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength believing with all our being that we can do all things through Christ (Mark 12:30, Phil. 4:13, Rom. 8:28, 31). Dare to follow the example of Daniel (Daniel 1:8) and purpose in our hearts not to defile ourselves with the pollution of the world (1 John 2:15-17. James 4:4, 1 Peter 4:1-6, Romans 12:1-2)). We will have to pay the price of self-denial (Matthew 16:24-26, Titus 2:11-12). We must be dressed in readiness with our lamps lit (Luke 12:35, Matthew 5:16, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Peter 1:3-11, 2 Peter 3:10-18). Make no mistake about it, the devil is alive and well. He wants us and will seek to get us any way he can.
Charles Hicks
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