On Alert!

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering" (1 Pet. 5:8-9, NIV).

Peter knew what it was like to caught in the lion's trap. During the last supper, Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift him as wheat. He wouldn't listen. He thought he was invincible. You can read about it in Luke 22:24-46.

Someone defined self-control as man's ability to look at reality with a clear mind. Peter calls his readers to be self-controlled and alert. He points them to the reality. We are being hunted by a prowling lion who will devour us if he catches us. Peter reminds urges us to resist the enemy.

Peter uses several terms to describe our enemy. He calls him "your enemy." He isn't just Jesus' enemy, he is our enemy, as well. He is our enemy or adversary. He is one who wants to take us to court and strip us of all good. He is the devil, a slanderer and accuser.  Our enemy is on the hunt, he's hungry, and violent.

How should we respond? We need to resist him. How do we resist him? We do it by standing firm in our faith. Peter, most probably, is referring the truths of Christianity, but he may also mean our personal profession of faith.  Why do we resist him? We do it because our "brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering." He could be calling us to serve as an example for other believers, calling us to encourage other believers with our faithfulness, or calling us to remember our unity with Christ.

Peter wants us to be ready when the devil attacks. Where he once fell, he wants us to stand. If we are to succeed, we must be on alert!