If you’ve never watched a documentary on lions, you should. They’re the king of the jungle and very interesting creatures. Their roar can be heard from as far as five miles away by the human ear. Male lions are typically the most active at night and that’s also when they roar the most. When I heard these facts about lions, it reminded me of I Peter 5:8. It says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
The first thing Peter tells us is to stay alert. Lions like to hide in the grass and stalk their prey. They blend in with their surroundings and sneak up on whatever it is they’re going to devour. If they’re spotted from a distance, they know they don’t have much of a chance to catch their prey and move on. Peter knew that we need to keep a watchful eye out for the devil. He didn’t say we should be afraid of him. He merely wanted us to pay attention to our surroundings. Are we putting ourselves in places where the devil can hide and stalk us?
The next part of that verse says he prowls around like a roaring lion. If you remember from above, they roar at night. The enemy chooses to come after us in the night times of our life. He knows that’s when we are most vulnerable. He roars in order to instill fear in to our hearts. He knows he can paralyze so many Christians with a simple roar from far away. Remember that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life. Are you paralyzed by the roar of the enemy or encouraged by the life giving power of Jesus?
My favorite part of this scripture comes in verse 9. It says, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” While the attacks of the enemy are real, we can hold our ground. We can stand firm against him by the power of Jesus’ name. We don’t have to cower in fear or run from him because he’s stalking us. He can stand and fight because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. What can you do to stand firm when the enemy is roaring?
One of my favorite Disney movies of all time is “The Lion King”. In it, there’s a scene where Simba has lost his way in life and his father visits him in a dream. Mufasa calls out to his son and says, “Remember who you are.” I think when we’ve lost our way or the enemy is trying to instill fear in our lives, we need to remember who we are. We are children of the King of Kings and have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. By the power and authority we are to stand up against the enemy. Don’t let him cause you to submit in fear. Recognize him, call him out and stand firm in your faith against him. You will be victorious no matter how loudly he roars.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 