Read 1 Peter 5:8–11
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
We must never get the idea that we are the only ones going through
battles, because Peter has told us “your brothers throughout the
world” are facing the same trials (1 Peter 5:9). We must pray for one
another and encourage each other in the Lord. And we must remember that our personal victories will help others, just as their victories
will help us.
Had Peter obeyed these instructions the night Jesus was arrested,
he would not have gone to sleep in the Garden of Gethsemane
(Matt. 26:36–46), attacked Malchus (John 18:10), or denied the
Lord (Matt. 26:69–75). He did not take the Lord’s warning seriously; in fact, he argued with Him (vv. 31–35)! Nor did he recognize
Satan when the adversary inflated his ego with pride, told him he
did not have to “watch and pray,” and then incited him to use his
sword. Had Peter listened to the Lord and resisted the Enemy, he
would have escaped all those failures.
Before we can stand before Satan, we must bow before God. Peter
resisted the Lord and ended up submitting to Satan!
Something to Ponder
As you look back on your own life, what do you see that you could
have done differently to avoid major failures?