When you’re going through something hard, there’s a voice that shows up right on time. If God really loved you, you wouldn’t be going through this. You can’t trust Him. Handle it yourself.
That voice has a name. Peter doesn’t dance around it:
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8–9)
If you’re newer to faith, talk about the devil can sound like cartoons and pitchforks. The Bible doesn’t treat him that way. It calls him a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), the accuser of believers (Revelation 12:10), the one who blinds minds to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). He isn’t a symbol. He’s a real enemy. He isn’t God’s equal, either. He’s a created being who rebelled, he isn’t everywhere at once, and he can’t read your mind. But he knows the dark places in you, and he watches.
A lion, not a house cat
Most of us have only seen lions at the zoo, and zoo lions mostly nap. Peter isn’t picturing that lion.
On a trip to Kenya, I watched a herd of zebras grazing near a grove of trees. They didn’t see what was lying in the shade. Then the lion bolted, wicked fast, and took the slowest zebra in the herd.
That’s the picture. Not a nuisance. A predator looking for the weak one, the hurt one, the one who’s drifted to the edge of the herd.
That’s why Peter brings him up right here, in a letter about suffering. When you’re hurting, you’re easier to catch. It’s why the tempter came to Jesus at the end of forty days without food. The old recovery shorthand fits: watch out when you’re Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.
How he attacks
Sometimes he’s quiet as a snake. Sometimes he roars, and suffering gets so loud you can’t hear yourself think. Either way, his attacks tend to come in four flavors:
- Doubt. “Is God really good? Did He really promise that?”
- Discouragement. “This will never end, and nothing good can come of it.”
- Dissatisfaction. “Look at everything you don’t have.” Grumbling follows, then resentment toward God.
- Deception. “Things would be better if you took matters into your own hands.” Leave the marriage. Fudge the numbers at work. Just this once.
You can’t fight what you won’t name. That’s what “be sober-minded; be watchful” means. Wake up. Stop numbing out. Know his schemes.
How you fight back
Here’s the good news. The command isn’t “defeat him.” It’s “resist him, firm in your faith.” Stand up to a bully and his bravado tends to fall apart. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
How do you resist the father of lies? You say true things. Peter gives his readers two right in the passage:
You aren’t alone. “The same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” The lie says nobody has ever gone through this. The truth is that believers all over the world are walking the same road right now.
God is bigger, and this is temporary.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)
A little while. Then restored, confirmed, strengthened, established, by God himself.
This is the normal way to do spiritual battle. Not a special formula. You open the Word, you find what’s true, and you plant your feet on it.
A few practical moves
- Write down the lie you keep hearing. Doubt, discouragement, dissatisfaction, or deception. Name it.
- Find the truth that answers it. One verse. Put it where you’ll see it.
- Check your HALT. Are you hungry, angry, lonely, or tired? Deal with the body, too. Eat. Sleep. Call someone.
- Stay close to the herd. The lion picks off the one who wanders. Go to your group this week, especially if you don’t feel like it.
- Look to Christ. Jesus was tempted in every way and didn’t sin. He died for the sins of the world and rose again. If you’ve never put your faith in Him, that’s where standing firm starts.
The devil is real, and he is after you. But he’s on a leash, his time is short, and the God of all grace has the last word. Resist him. Say what’s true. Watch him run.