"… Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ” 1 Peter 5:8
Have you ever been the victim of the
lack of being prepared? Have you ever
found yourself in the midst of a situation knowing that it was
unavoidable? In life, we often see this
scenario played out in our lives. It
could be that we run out of gas even though we have passed several service
stations since leaving home. Similarly,
our lack of preparation for a known storm can cause damage which has
far-reaching consequences. Whether this
lack of preparedness is a mark of your personality or you are one who is
prepared for every possibility in a given situation, it important to take heed
to Peter’s exhortation concerning our spiritual readiness.
As I look at the culture in America, it
is my belief that too many, in and out of the church, are prepared for worldly
eventualities yet are unready and ill-equipped for encounters with the
supernatural. As professing believers,
we should not be surprised by the existence of a spiritual realm, and our
readiness for the realities of this domain is as important as our worldly
readiness.
Our God, knowing the danger of the
spiritual realm, uses Peter to advise Christians. It is clear, that the fifth chapter of the
book of Peter instructs us by telling us that we must be vigilant and realistic
for we will encounter a spiritual enemy who seeks to destroy. In this verse, Christians are urged to be on
alert. Here Peter is not prescribing the
care-free, easy Christian life expounded by so many in Christian circles today,
rather he is saying be careful. He does
not want a passive Christian lifestyle for he realizes that Christians will
experience spiritual warfare… therefore, he is calling for a Christian life
that is active. He is making an appeal,
for wide-awake, watchful, self-controlled, disciplined Christians who will not carelessly
allow Satan to quickly gain an advantage (Ephesians 4:26-27 and 2 Corinthians
2:10-11). He makes such an appeal for he
knows the adversary, the prince of the power of the air, the one whose mission
and methods are clearly describe as he who prowls seeking to devour.
My question is this my brothers and sisters in Christ,
are we vigilant and prepared? For you
see, if we look many of us have seen the movement of God in our lives and in our churches.
During my youth groups recent Youth Spiritual Emphasis Retreat we clearly saw God renew the
youth and during our church-wide revival He has awoken many. Do not think that the roaring lion has not
taken notice of the movement around me and that he will not take notice of the movement of God in your life. I beckon each of you to
stand with me and be alert for our battle has just begun.