Jaws!

[Alabaster]

1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

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Sometimes (like today!) I have thoughts about my plight.

“Nobody has it as bad as this!”
“No one understands my pain!”
“I’m the only one who has to deal with this problem!”

Sound familiar? Hmm!

I imagine myself at a blind in a tree at a watering hole in rural Africa. Many species of animals are slaking their thirst there. An elephant or two, a couple rhinos, many elands, and hyenas lurking nearby, looking for a weak one of the herd. But there are mighty lions hanging back. Once a weakling is spotted, the bold young lions chase after their prey, topple the poor weak eland and tear it to pieces with their superior strength and magnificent jaws! Yipes! Bedlam!

That is what Satan does. He lurks around on the prowl looking for my weaknesses. Once detected, they are duly noted in my profile, and then he and his cohorts just sit and watch and wait…and plan my downfall.

God says I must be alert! Be strong in my faith! Take note that God tells me that I am NOT ALONE! Nothing that I am suffering is something that is only mine. The one thing I need to remember is that I should never speak my misery out loud without speaking it to my heavenly Father. Loose talking to the air is just asking for trouble. The devil picks it up like a scent and away he runs with it. There is power in the tongue—life and death, as a matter of fact.

Proverbs 18:21 NLT
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.


1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.


We need to bring our sufferings to the cross, receive strength to endure and go out into the world and pass on the very good news of Jesus to those who suffer and don’t know that there is a Saviour---that wonderful Jesus Christ, who will give them relief and victory!

Let's not be candidates to appease the hunger of our enemy.




NEW
10/31/07