1 Peter 5:6-11
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Daily Devotion
Be Vigilant
by Shawn Dewitz
There is a lot you can take from these few scriptures. Humble yourself, you are in God’s hand and more. And they all work together but I want to focus on 2 verses. Verses 8 and 9.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
We find Peter telling the church to be sober and be vigilant. (or in the NIV: Be alert and of sober mind).
The Greek verb (grēgoreō), translated ‘vigilant’ was also used by Jesus used when He urgently warned His disciples to “watch” and pray in order not to enter into temptation (Matt. 26:41)
Peter knew better than most the importance of not falling asleep when he should be in prayer. The importance to not be lulled into a false sense of security when in fact he should be watchful since you never knew when an attack would come from the enemy.
But even though Peter lets us know that the enemy is like one of the most fierce hunters looking for someone to devour, he also lets us know how to stay safe. To resist the enemy one must simply be stedfast in faith knowing that you are not alone in your struggles. The church is there for you and has been through what you are facing! You see the Lion doesn’t attack the main herd of Water buffalo. But instead looks for the weak, old, young, slow, or injured. Those that wander too far from the strength of the herd. When you wander from the Body (the Church) you leave yourself vulnerable and the lion now seems like an unbeatable foe. But when you stick with the church that’s “under the mighty hand of God,” the lion cannot do a thing to you. Its roar turns into just a trick of an old toothless lion, trying to scare you away from safety.
Be Sober! Be Vigilant! And let God take care of the church!