Christian Devotional-Stories and Bible verses about the presence of God in our lives

The Enemy is Near

the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

2:46 AM…

They are howling…

enemy

Really howling…

Each adding his barks and yells and growls and howls to a raucous reverberation…

A ragged declaration of individual strengths and threats…

A disquieting, discordant yowling that wakes me up…

I pull back the curtains and look out…

Where are they?

I can’t see them…

But  they are close…closer than I’d like to think.

How many are there?

From all the howls, there must be three or more…

Three or more what, you ask?

Coyotes.

We do not live in a rural area…

We live in the suburbs of a big city.

So do the coyotes.

Tonight they are making a lot of noise…

Announcing their presence.

Usually the coyotes sound as if they are distant, and we assume they are in the local forest preserve.

We tell ourselves they won’t come into our neighborhood…

We tell ourselves they are far away.

But that’s not true.

They live in the midst of us…

Or perhaps we live in the midst of them.

Could it be the same with something far more dangerous than coyotes?

We tell ourselves the threats to our souls are far away…

We tell ourselves we really don’t have to worry about evil…

But is that true?

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

“A roaring lion?”

Then why is our enemy so hard to spot?

…no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  2 Corinthians 11:14

We think ourselves safe from an enemy whose strength we cannot even imagine…

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12

Once we recognize the presence of the enemy…

Where do we find safety?

Only in God’s word…

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  2 Timothy 3:16 

Only in God’s grace…

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  2 Corinthians 12:9 

Only in God himself…

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.  2 Thessalonians 3:3 

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