Attacks of the Enemy || 1 Peter 5:8-9 || Manna for the Mind #130

Welcome to Day 130 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 5:8-9. We’ll discuss how we can stand firm against the enemy. The scripture says:

1 Peter 5:8-9

AMP	NLT	VOICE
8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.	8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.	8 Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard. Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone.
9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack – rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]	9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.	9 Resist him and be strong in your faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are fellow sufferers with you.

The VOICE translation has a note about this passage: Peter states that we need to be humble in our relationship with one another. Humility should be our greatest strength. The enemy wants to consume us, but the strength to resist him is found in God.

Peter compares the enemy to a prowling lion. Lions attack sick, young, or straggling animals; they choose victims who are isolated and unaware. Peter wants us to watch out for Satan when we’re suffering or feeling attacked. The moments when we’re feeling alone, weak, helpless, and cut off from those around us. The moments when we’re so focused on our troubles that we forget to be aware of those around us. These moments are when we’re vulnerable, and these moments are more common today. The problems we face today aren’t new, but how we experience these problems can be new. We have advanced so much that we expose ourselves to many different sources that cause chaos. During these times, we need to surround ourselves with our support team to help encourage us, comfort us, and motivate us to continue. Our eyes need to be on Christ at all times.

James 4:7

AMP	NLT	VOICE
7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.	7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.	7 So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure.

God has defeated Satan. When the second coming happens, the devil and all his evil acts will be eliminated forever. He operates on our will to get us to join his evil will. We can ask the Holy Spirit to fill us when we follow our natural tendencies, which often lead us to the enemy’s agenda. We can resist the devil through the Holy Spirit; he will flee from us. Our natural identity doesn’t always prioritize the needs and understanding of those around us. We think about ourselves first, which isn’t inherently evil but can lead to pride and egotism. It’s not the fact that it makes us a bad person, but our mindsets, when left unchecked, can get screwed up and lead us down the wrong path.

Ephesians 6:11-13

AMP	NLT	VOICE
11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the scheme and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.	11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.	11 Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents, but against the rulers against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural places)	12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.	12 We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].	13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.	13 And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: So you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground.

We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ’s church. As a believer, the enemies will try every different thing possible to get us to turn away from God. Although we know God wins, we will endure the struggle in the battle because it will continue until everyone is surrounded with the Holy Spirit. We need this supernatural power to defeat the enemy, and that is found in the Armor of God Paul describes in the reminder of Ephesians 6.

It can get easy to get wrapped up in the worn-torn imagery of the battle between the positive and evil forces in the world. We often get put off because of the intensity preachers and church leaders will use when describing this battle. It’s an intense battle, but we can simplify to understand that we will always be in a battle between evil and goodness. The more positive we can instill into the world, the more evil we can kill off. We can use God’s gifts and protections to add positivity to the world.

Father God, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the protection of the Armor you provided for us. Help us to instill these gifts in ourselves and share the positivity you provide into the world to kill off the tactics and agendas of the enemies. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.