Satan Has You Right Where He Wants You

Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the Scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:
1 Peter 5v8-9: "Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”

Going Deeper:
Memes are funny. Even though I don’t have social media, I still receive memes daily from friends and find myself forwarding them along (as if I created them) to others while laughing hysterically.

Memes are an enjoyable way of bringing humor into our mundane experiences. We share memes because when we see them, we laugh and think, “This is exactly how I feel!” and then feel compelled to invite others into our joy. 

Memes are also revealing. The more relatable a meme is with the masses, the quicker it spreads. The most recurring memes I have seen circulating during COVID-19 all have fairly similar themes. They usually have something to do with bingeing tv shows, eating 9 meals a day due to boredom, drinking more alcohol than normal, or parents going insane as they are forced into the new role of homeschool teachers. Don’t get me wrong – most of these memes make me laugh pretty hard. We guiltily laugh because we see some of these realities playing out in our own lives during quarantine. 

Peter, one of Jesus’ first disciples, is well known throughout the gospel accounts for his lack of self-control. He was constantly caught off guard by Jesus’ loving rebukes due to his over-confidence and lack of self-awareness. The night before Jesus was crucified, he said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” Peter’s pride and inability to recognize the weightiness of the moment led to being sifted by Satan and denying Jesus. 

After Jesus rose from the dead and restored Peter, we see a change in Peter. While he was far from flawless for the rest of his life, we sense a deeper humility and self-awareness as we read his letters in 1 and 2 Peter.

The Apostle Peter, having first-hand experience with being sifted and nearly devoured by Satan, gives us reason to pause and evaluate our meme-relating. What feels like an innocent joke about our lack of self-control turns out to be fertile ground for our enemy, the devil. While this season of lockdown may have some of us working more hours than ever, it has many others sitting around with hours to spare.

Soren Kierkegaard, a 19^th century philosopher and theologian, once wrote, “Boredom is the root of all evil. It is very curious that boredom, which itself has such a calm and sedate nature, can have such a capacity to initiate motion. The effect that boredom brings about is absolutely magical, but this effect is one not of attraction but of repulsion.” While boredom may not be the root of all evil, it is certainly the place where our adversary, a devouring lion, is happy to have you. 

Unaware. 
Isolated.
Inattentive.
Undisciplined.
Bored.

And what was Peter’s charge for us? 

Sober-mindedness.
Attentiveness.
Resistance.
Faithfulness.

How do we stay alert and resistant against Satan and his schemes in times of quarantine? 

Here are a few ways to stay alert, standing in faith, throughout the different, yet intersecting areas of our lives:

Pray:

• Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with Jesus, which is why it is impossible to stay spiritually alert apart from prayer. I am reminded of Jesus telling his disciples in Gethsemane, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41) When we pray, we connect with Jesus and awake again to reality as it is. We are not merely physical beings, but spiritual beings. This world is not merely filled with physical realties, but spiritual ones as well. 
• Practical: Pray through the Lord’s Prayer slowly morning, noon and night, or use the time you used to commute to work for a time of prayer before and after work.  

Exercise:

• Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6v19-20 “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.” 
• While that passage is specifically about glorifying Jesus through our sexuality, it is a reminder that Jesus did not only die for your soul but for your body as well. When we lack discipline in one area of our lives, it usually bleeds into every other area, so let us glorify Jesus with our physical bodies and stay alert.
• Practical: Get outside and go for a long walk. Do some sit-ups or pushups inside. Refrain from running to food or alcohol as your comfort. Get 8 hours of sleep.

Journal: 

• The Psalms are a constant reminder that God cares immensely about our emotions and desires. Emotions are an incredible indicator as to what is actually going on in our hearts. Jesus wants us to bring our true selves to Him, but many of us are unable to do that because we aren't sure who our true self is. Journaling is an incredible exercise to express your true self and bring that self to Jesus for rest, comfort, truth and grace. At the beginning and end of each day I try to take a few minutes to journal about the highs and lows of my day, evaluating how I am feeling about the day. Emotions can increase our awareness and alertness to the real world if we process them with Jesus, or they can consume us and prevent us from living in reality. 
• Practical: Each morning write down 3 things you are grateful for and 1 thing you are not looking forward to today. In the evening write down a high and a low from your day and then bring it to Jesus – The sentence preceding Peter’s warning to be alert is an invitation to cast our anxieties onto God, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5v7).

Talk:

• Being made in the image of our Relationally-Triune God, we need people. God told Adam that it wasn’t good that he was alone even though Adam was with God. I prefer face to face conversations exponentially more than Zoom, phone calls and texts, but we can’t do anything about that right now. Connecting digitally is superior to not connecting at all. Hebrews 10v24-25 challenges us, “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” 
• Practical: Connect with at least one other person through Zoom or FaceTime each day. Even if it’s as short as 10-minutes, it is essential for your soul to connect with brothers and sisters.

Think:

• A large portion of the Christian life is a battle in the mind. While Satan can provoke us to fear through physical, audible or visible means, most of his attacks are on our minds. His main goal is to take your eyes off of Jesus and he doesn’t care whether that is through a demonic manifestation or a 6-pack of beer. Paul reminds us in Romans 12v2: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”  And again, in 2 Corinthians 10v5: “Take your thoughts captive and make them obedient to Jesus.” Let’s evaluate our thoughts and bring them in submission to the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done and is doing. 
• Practical: People ask me all the time, “How can I find more time to read?” Well, now is a great time. Fill your mind with truth, wonder and knowledge by reading good books. Good books have a powerful way of making us think more deeply. Find a good book that makes you think deeply and challenges you to renew your mind with the truths of Jesus. 

Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.

Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?

Apply:
What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?