Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, firm in your faith…
I Peter 5:8-9
True followers of Christ are in a continuous battle against the pull of evil and sin which seeks to confuse, distract and destroy us. Every moment Christ’s people must interact with a culture that despises everything that the believer holds dear. We truly live in a world of hostility and wickedness, as has the true Church throughout history. The “roar of the lion” who seeks someone to devour can be heard wherever true Christians strive to follow Christ.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“There is not a place which a believer walks in–which is free from snares. Behind every tree–is the tempter with his barbed arrow! Behind every bush–is the roaring lion, the Devil, your great enemy, prowling around, looking for some victim to devour! Under every piece of grass–hides the deadly adder!
This present world is the battlefield; Heaven is a place of complete victory and glorious triumph.
This present world is the land of the sword and the spear; Heaven is the land of the wreath and the crown.
This present world is the land of the garment rolled in blood and the dust of the fight; Heaven is the land of the trumpet’s joyful sound–the place of the white robe and of the shout of conquest.”
Christians grieve over their sin and that of others. The world does not understand this. Wicked men do not understand justice; and, righteousness men will strive with them until Christ returns. There is no truce, no compromise, no cease fire, no end in this life of our spiritual war and struggles. Light exposes evil. Evil complains, denounces, and attacks all that would expose it as evil. The roar of the lion may be fierce, but he is a chained lion; he can go no farther than the Lord allows.
In this world our hearts cry out, “O God, my Lord and Savior Christ my King, – save us! Help us and heal us according to Your promises and according to Your power and purpose. The struggle is hard and our strength grows faint; yet You promise “strength for the day.” We are Yours; save us!”
The Christian’s only armor, described in Ephesians 6, is supplied by our King and Savior, and must be securely strapped on and never laid aside. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. And having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.”
And, the most heated and difficult battlefield is: ON OUR KNEES IN PRAYER. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18). Although the lion may roar and show its teeth, we are called to put on the armor, stand firm in the faith, pray always.
“Soldiers of Christ, put on your armor.
Let not this day pass without striking a blow for Jesus.”
–Charles Spurgeon