A Roaring Lion
30 Days in 1st Peter - day 28
The context of 1st Peter is suffering and persecution. Interestingly, Peter never goes into the source of the suffering except in generalities. He never talks about the Roman empire, Nero, or other specific individuals. Instead, he paints with a broad brush and writes about the Gentiles (by whom he means unbelievers) and the world (the system of life here under the dominion of sin).
But before he finishes this letter, Peter reminds us of one enemy in particular – the devil.
Peter graphically describes the devil as a “roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” He tells us what we instinctively know – the devil is our adversary.
To carry Peter’s metaphor our further, I think we could say that how we handle our worries and whether we proudly bear them ourselves or humbly cast them on the Lord will largely determine our vulnerability to the devil’s attacks. We become like defenseless sheep separated from the flock and shepherd, easy prey for a lion, when we depend on ourselves and not the Lord.
Peter does something here we would be wise to follow. He doesn’t spend the whole letter dwelling on the devil, but he doesn’t leave him completely out of the picture either. He wants us to be aware but not obsessed with this spiritual side of the warfare we are engaged in.
The way to deal with the devil is by humble submission to God. We resist the devil by steadfast faith in God. In this context, we have victory over the devil when we trust that God cares for us. And we exercise our faith in the loving care of God when we cast our cares upon Him.
This requires serious vigilance. Unbelieving anxiety can creep up on us. And the devil is lurking about waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
So, “resist him, steadfast in the faith.”
