While I enjoy the outdoors and being in nature when it comes to things like hiking and camping, I’ve never had much of an interest in hunting. I have no experience hunting and have little desire plan a hunting trip anytime soon. I certainly wouldn’t be much of a threat to any game being hunted. In fact, I’m sure that any animal being hunted would actually be better off if I accompanied the hunting party. One way or another, it’s highly likely that I would end up alerting and scaring off any animal.
That being said, I think I get the basic gist of hunting, which is to do your absolute best to go undetected by the game you’re hunting. Then, when the animal unsuspectingly comes into your crosshairs, you have as good a chance as possible of bringing home a trophy. So long as the animal doesn’t smell, see, or hear you, then it doesn’t even know you’re there and is less likely to be scared off. That gives you the best chance of success.
When it comes to something like hunting, we are used to being the predator pursuing the prey. But in our verses from 1 Peter, he turns that around and warns us that we are actually being hunted, and by a predator who can do much more damage than just end our physical life; he can cause us to stumble and lose our eternal life. Peter warns us, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (v.8). The devil is real, he is dangerous, he is on the hunt, and you are what he’s hunting!
But just like any unsuspecting animal being hunted, if the predator is not detected, then neither is the perception of any real danger. It doesn’t surprise us that this is the case for the secular world that brushes off any talk of Satan being real. Satan’s got it easy picking on those prey, because they are oblivious to his existence and are therefore unaware that they live each and every day right in the center of his crosshair. Unless they become aware of their prowling enemy and nothing changes, when they breathe their last physical breath, Satan’s kill shot will then usher in their eternal death.
While it doesn’t surprise us that the world would brush off any satanic threat, can Satan make inroads in the Church picking apart drifting believers who refuse to acknowledge him as a threat or even question his existence? You tell me. If we don’t feel he’s really all that dangerous, we aren’t going to be on high alert and have the focused mind that Peter encourages. And that’s exactly how a predator would want it. If he isn’t perceived as a threat, then the prey will carry on without a second thought, head in the clouds and aloof to the danger.
While I’m pretty good about it most of the time, I admit that once in a while I do get sucked into nature video clips of predators gobbling up their prey. The ones that really catch my attention are the predators swallowing their prey whole, while it’s still alive. A snake slowly engulfs a frog. A komodo dragon gobbles up a baby goat in seconds. The prey is completely devoured!
While Peter likens the devil to a lion rather than a snake or komodo dragon, the threat is nonetheless clear. The devil is on a hunting party 24/7/365. He will not think twice about devouring unsuspecting prey.
What are we to do? In addition to being vigilantly alert, Peter calls on Christians to put up a fight. He writes, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (v.9). Resist! Put up a fight! Stand firmly in the faith, and be encouraged that there are many more Christians who are a part of that same resistance, refusing to be helplessly devoured by the evil one. When he does attack, resist him; fight back!
Too often we don’t even put up a fight! That may be because in weakness we honestly find sin to be more pleasing than living in grace. We don’t even want to put up a fight because we don’t wish to say no to sin. But be extremely careful when this is the case. The more we give into sin, the more we crave it, and it can consume us until we are willing to permanently trade in grace for gratification. Sin is never content to be the occasional guest in our heart – it wants to take over the throne of our heart entirely!
We can also fail to put up a fight because we give too much credit to the enemy and not nearly enough to the Victor who has already defeated him! We let the gloom of Good Friday get the better of us. We reason that if the devil could successfully scheme to sentence the Son of God to death by crucifixion, then how could we ever stand a chance against him? How quickly we forget, though, that that day of mourning, that tear-filled Friday was not how the story ended!
No, it was not defeat that took place at Calvary; it was merely the battleground where our perfect Substitute soldier made the most noble sacrifice of all, not to be dealt defeat, but to deal defeat to his enemy and ours! That defeat came when Jesus offered up himself to ensure victory. And three days later it was confirmed!
Freed from the restraints of death, the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples to share the glorious victory together. Jesus won. Victory was ours. Jesus won. Victory still is ours. So fight back with all the courage and confidence of one facing a defeated enemy. When Christ is in you as a believer, then victory is in you as well – fight back!
But how? How do you fight back? How do you resist? It’s one thing to speak of battle and talk about predators hunting prey. But how do we fight back when no physical weapons are involved? How do we resist when there’s no one on whom we can land a physical punch?
There’s a sure-fire way not to do it. Don’t resist by relying on your own willpower. When we look back on the battles we’ve lost to the devil in the heat of temptation and determine that we were just weak in that moment, but next time we’ll be stronger, we give ourselves far too much credit. We are deceived into thinking we’re on a level playing field with the one who is the experienced, expert tempter! How downright foolish of us!
The question is, how many times are you willing to cycle through that lie as it repeats itself in your life? Will months go by? Will it be years, decades even, that you regularly enough lose the battle but keep pretending that “next time” you’ll just try harder and won’t give in to the temptation? If that is your only course of action, to determine that “next time” you won’t give in, be ready for a very long and very frustrating soul-sapping, unwinnable battle.
No, the key to successfully resisting the devil is to make sure our footing is solid. We fight best, we give ourselves a chance, only when we stand firmly in the faith and in the object of our faith, Jesus.
Now if that is true, then it makes sense that the stronger our faith is, the more effectively we’ll be able to put up a fight, right? Well then, how do we fortify our faith? How do we firm up our footing? If we look earlier in the verses, Peter provides two examples of how to better prepare for battle with the evil one by bolstering up our faith.
First, he wrote, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (v.6). Remember who already defeated the devil! If in Christ we have the One who already handed the devil defeat, why would we foolishly insist on securing victory against him on our own? In humility, acknowledge our weaknesses and limitations, own up to and confess that our sins give Satan the upper hand. In humility, let us lower ourselves beneath God’s mighty hand, both acknowledging our inability while also relying on his powerful ability to deal the devil as many blows as it takes to knock him off his tempter’s track.
Think of the person getting caught in a sudden downpour. So long as he stays out in the open, it will not take long until he is completely drenched, soaked from head to toe. But if he seeks shelter, a covering over his head or a large umbrella, just as quickly is he protected from the relentless raindrops. So when we humble ourselves beneath God’s hand, our pride no longer in the picture, we see how powerful and protecting God’s hand really is. And as we do so more and more, our faith is at its best because it is relies on God’s mighty hand instead of our own frail fists.
The second way to firm up our footing is to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (v.7). Worry, anxiety, concern over the day-to-day or the long-term unknowns – when we insist on carrying these things around with us everywhere, it’s like we’re walking around in lead boots, dragging our feet one sloooooow step at a time. Could you imagine fighting an enemy if you had heavy feet? How could you ever expect to have a chance while insisting on being weighed down by worries? Your enemy would cut you down immediately. That’s what Satan would do.
So get rid of them. Gather up all of that anxiety and drape it over Jesus. He can carry it. And, when you see him do just that, you are reminded about how much he cares for you. And when you are reminded about how much he cares for you, you are rejuvenated. You are refreshed. You are strengthened. You are standing firmly on the right footing – the footing of faith. Depend on his deliverance in the time of temptation, and you will not be disappointed. For he has already delivered you, and will do it again as many times as it takes until he can deliver you home.