Huge hat tip to Ivan for a powerful sermon yesterday. So powerful in fact, that I’m dedicating two posts to it.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
The following video has been seen 64 million times. It is that cool. In fact, all you have to do is start typing “battle” in YouTube and this is the first thing that comes up. I’ll let you watch before babbling further.
Satan is like a lion looking to devour. Who does he devour? The young, the weak, and the alone. In the video, the lions pounce and go right after the young water buffalo. But just when you think the lions have won (out comes a crocodile!) the water buffaloes come to protect their own.
The spiritual application is obvious. Satan preys after the spiritually young, the spiritually weak, and the spiritually alone. But when we stand by our brothers and sisters in their most vulnerable times, we can help defend against the roaring lion. Just as important, as the baby water buffalo proved, no matter how beaten down you may be you can never give up fighting.
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (v 9)
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7b)
For more, I recommend the book The Lion Never Sleeps by Mike Taliaferro.