The Destroyer

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8

I'll never forget the day my dad took me to my first circus in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The whole city was decorated with banners and posters! We found a place to park and walked over to the empty lot with the big top. Three rings, a high wire, clowns, horses, jugglers...and right in the middle was a giant cage filled with fierce animals. All of a sudden, one of those big tigers looked directly at me and gave a huge roar that lifted me right off the bleachers.

Then a man wearing a sparkly suit, black boots, and carrying a chair and a whip walked into that cage! He had those animals jumping through fiery hoops, sitting down in rows, rolling over--amazing stuff. Then it happened. One of the cats broke rank and leapt at the guy. The trainer stepped back, lifted his chair and snapped his whip, and for a second, it was a standoff as he and the tiger stared at each other. Finally the big cat went back to his place. Even though I was a young kid, it was clear to me the tiger's goal had not been merely to sniff the trainer's boots.

Christian, never underestimate the goal of your enemy, the Devil. He is out to devour you. Does that mean you must live in fear, wondering if he's lurking behind every bush? No, the apostle Peter said, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith..." You can overcome the Devil by relying on God's Word, just as Jesus did when He faced Satan in the wilderness. Remember, He repeated those powerful words "It is written" as he stood firm against Satan!