Knowing your enemy

The enemy is subtle. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 that he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The amplified version says he is like a lion that is fiercely hungry. That means that he is in intentional, stealthy, clever, and tenacious. 

Have you ever watched one of those nation shows that goes to the African safari to follow a pride of lions? Hunting is one of the major pieces to their existence.

When a lion is on the prowl, they fix their eyes on the horizon and wait. Looking back and forth over their pride, they wait for a potential victim to appear in their view. Whether large or small, they know that whatever it is, the other animal is going down.

Stealthily, they creep up behind their prey; taking their time so they don't scare it away. A lioness will step and then pause, step and then pause, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. The group of lions might be starving, but they wait patiently knowing that in the small amount of time it takes to perfectly set up their trap, they will then be able to feast for hours and not have to eat again for days. 

Closer and closer a lion will sneak up, almost freezing itself in motion so it isn't seen. A lion's poise and muscle control is focused and it's eyes are fixed on the target. A lioness will pick out a small and feeble animal, but can also bring down a wildebeest on her own. A pack of lions can bring down a giraffe or even an elephant. 

When she does seize the moment, a lioness will run at full speed, pounce at the victim, and sink her claws into the animals backside bringing it down to the ground. More lashings of her claws and then her teeth go straight for the jugular. She will tenaciously continue until the animal has no strength left. 

I've watched videos where a lioness will just drag the animal to a spot where she will just clamp down on the animal's neck and just wait until her prey is completely dead. Motionless, bleeding, fresh flesh to feast on for the whole family. 

Once the animal is lifeless, the pack will come and tear the carcass to pieces. Ripping muscles, pulling at bone, picking off every fiber of flesh from the skeleton. There is no mercy, no feeling, no thought as to the family that animal left behind. I mean these are animals, so of course they are just taking care of the instinct that God gave to them.

However, I want to bring a point here. Your enemy is the same way. Peter wouldn't have compared him to such a predator without the truth of his character being as such. Satan has his eye on each and everyone of us. He looks for ways to creep up behind us and set his trap. He looks for those who are isolated, lonely, hurting, sick, feeble, or alone. 

He speaks to our minds to try to gets picked off from the pack so we are easier targets for his hunting mission. He tells us things like no one cares, you aren't worthy, you'll never be well, why did God do this to you? His lies aren't new though. He started in the garden with Eve and now look at the mess that she and Adam created by yielding to his madness? 

Just remember how a lion brings it's prey down and how it feeds. Then think about the fact that that is what Satan wants to do to you. He will use whomever and whatever to get at you, but behind the faces of people or the evident situations, remember that he is the one behind it coming after you.

Here's the good news. We don't have a certain end like the wildebeest, giraffe or elephant. For us, God created a way of escape! 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

Who is the tempter? Satan himself. You don't have to be taken down by your enemy, God is on your side. What's even more exciting is that Jesus has already overcome and because we are in Him, we are more than conquerors, and greater is He that is in us that he that is in this world!

Being aware of who our enemy is will give us the edge that we need to stay sober, well balanced, self-disciplined, alert and cautious at all times as Peter commanded. He is cunning, but he is also defeated. In Christ we can know that we have authority over him, but he cannot be taken for granted. 

Knowing who our enemy is keeps us in victory. We can get the jump on him when he thinks he's got the jump on us.