The verse that many of us all know by heart is 1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." But it wasn't until recently that my simple mind acknowledged the fact that another favorite verse of mine, one that for the last couple of years I have used as a signature verse on my emails, 1 Peter 5:7... and how these two verses go hand in hand. Let me put them together for you... "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." I find it interesting how our anxieties are directly linked to Satan's quest to devour someone. I have to wonder if Peter is warning of the fact that anxiety is a diversionary tactic that Satan uses to divert our attention off of him while he licks his chops and prepares to pounce? Or is it that Peter is telling us that anxiety to Satan is like blood to a Great White shark invoking him to come and attack? Either way, it is evident that the two are linked.
I don't know about you, but from time to time I find myself going through tough times. I am the type of person who takes on the weight of my situation solely upon my shoulders until I can hardly function...that is a man's way of saying..."I worry about things." This passage reminds me that God not only knows my situation, but He cares about it. Sometimes I am diverted to think that no one cares. When my attention is on self, Satan can easily devour me. When my attention is diverted on the fact that I am in a tough spot and I don't know how to get out, Satan can easily devour me. Satan uses anxiety to divert our attention causing us to venture off course. And isn't it interesting that Peter say's to cast all of our anxiety on God, and follows it up with, "be sober in our spirit," which means to be mentally self-controlled? Anxiety is psychological, brought on by day to day stress and many experts say it is brought on by "negative self-talk." Many of us are our own critics, and put too much pressure on ourselves. He also tells us to "be alert" or "be vigilant" which means literally be awake and be watchful.
What this tells me is when times get strenuous and the situation at hand gets out of hand and starts to consume me the the point I start experiencing anxiety...I better realize that Satan must be near by. Satan uses anxiety as a diversion, and suffering as intimidation. When we face these situations in our life many times we end up the victim, but instead we need to realize we can be the victor. Verses 6-7 tells us how... "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." It takes us humbling ourselves in order for us to give it to God and realize that our anxiety is just playing into the hands of Satan.
I like to read the devotion "The Word for Today" as a supplemental quiet time from time to time. After having gone through a rough spell I turned to it and what I read is a great conclusion to this thought." When God wants to make you a bigger person, He does it through “distress.” The way to build stronger muscle is to lift more weight. Now when a muscle is put under stress, you groan. But if you persist, that muscle grows stronger and what you were groaning about last week you are smiling about this week. Who said the Christian life was supposed to be easy? Not God! His Word compares it to a battlefield, not a bed of roses. “Endure hardness, as a good soldier” (2Ti 2:3). Satan’s number one target is your faith! In the same way you separate wheat from chaff, Satan wants to separate you from your faith. Satan may attack your health, but he’s after your faith. He may attack your finances, but he’s after your faith. If he can destroy your confidence in God and His Word, he wins and you lose. So the word for you today is Strengthen your faith.” Not only is it a battlefield, but it can be a scary jungle. If Satan can divert us from learning this, it makes us easier prey.
I know that there are as many different difficult situations as there are readers of this blog...but the remedy is the same...Cast all, ( "All" in the Greek means "All," every little bit), of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. One of Satan's many tactics is to convince us that we are to insignificant for God to care about, and our burdens are to insignificant for God to be concerned with... Do you smell smoke?? I do, and its because that is a lie straight from the pits of Hell. God loved us so much that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. I know He cares, and because I know, I can... But resist Satan, firm in my faith, know that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by my brethren who are in the world. After I have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called me to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish me...1 Pet. 5:9-10. Hang in there and know He loves you and will see you through it. Keep your head up and keep your eyes open...its a jungle out there.
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