Walking With Christ

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.(ESV)

Our enemy knows when we are the most vulnerable. The enemy knows when we are the weakest. Our enemy hasn’t changed since creation. He has no new tricks.

It seems to me that the enemy always attacks the heaviest right before a major blessing or just after one. The attack before a blessing is to wear us down to keep us from crossing that line to receive the blessing. He attacks after a blessing because that is when we are often the most weary from the struggle. If we are bold in our faith and step out to do something that we normally wouldn’t do then we should expect attacks. If we find ourselves in a trying season where the enemy seems to always be right there whispering in our ears then we should expect a blessing soon.

Jesus was tempted in the desert just after His baptism. That was a major spiritual win. There are a few lessons that can be drawn from this. Testing and blessing come in cycles. When times are good and the blessings are flowing like water we have to be careful not to become prideful or complacent as it says in Deuteronomy 8. James 1:12 says that we are blessed by the trials we find ourselves in because those trials build up the perseverance spoken about in Romans 5:3-4.

If we recognize the source of our blessings, as found in James 1:17, and can learn to celebrate the trials as chances to grow, then we will find beauty in the storms of life and welcome the rain. Remember that the enemy has no power beyond what we give him. If we give everything to God then our enemy has absolutely no power.