The scripture today is from 1 Peter 5!
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
It amazes me how biblical writers say so much with so few words! I will then talk about their few words with my many words and probably leave us all a little more confused! Hopefully not!
Peter shares powerful instruction for resisting the devil in his few words! Be alert! Be sober minded! Know the enemy is real, evil and without a conscience! Take the battle seriously but do not, and I repeat "do not" despair! Stand firm in the faith!
That is wonderful succinct counsel! Then I notice a final comment about "resisting evil"! "... because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
Peter gives one more encouragement... "You are not alone!" When we are struggling, even in a battle with the evil one, the sense that we are alone in that struggle is one of our most vulnerable weaknesses! And Satan knows it! Notice when you feel a sense of being attacked by the evil one how often these attacks are accompanied with a sense of "aloneness"! When feeling alone in our struggle we will lose perspective and think, "I am the only one that has it this tough!" I call this "victim mode"! Or "No one cares and I have to do this without help!" - I call this "despair mode"! Either way we are giving a lot of ground to the evil one!
Peter calls us the believe the real truth at this point! I call this "Truth mode"! Believing that other people are under similar struggles all over the world and we are not suffering solo will help keep us out of "victim mode" with the accompanying "feeling sorry" for ourselves! Truth mode tells us we are not alone in our struggle! Truth mode also helps keep us out of despair mode by focusing us on the God who is with us. To use Peter's words, "He may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you....10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Amen! Amen! We are not alone! He will restore us! He will! He will!
delton
