Danger – Lion on the Loose

Danger – Lion on the Loose

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour… (1 Peter 5:8 – AKJV)

Sometimes Christians act as if the devil has gone on vacation, and they can let down their guard; they can breathe a sigh of relief and experience a period of freedom from the devil’s involvement in their affairs.

Of course Christians do not do this consciously; they merely slip into a state of mind in which they are not as alert to the dangers as they normally would be.  It is just like a normally alert driver who gets behind the wheel after consuming a fair amount of wine. He may feel alert, perfectly able to control the vehicle through the busy streets on his way home.

The wine, however, as exerted a subtle influence on his brain; his ability to judge distances have been impaired and his response times are not as rapid as he thinks they are.

The Greek word the apostle Peter used for “sober” literally means to abstain from wine, but it may not be wine that robs us of spiritual alertness; it could merely be a state of mind we have slipped into. We may just not have been as diligent in the study of Scripture as usual. The busyness of life has caused us to neglect our devotional life and we are not walking as closely with our Lords as is our habit. Like wine, this state of mind and heart impairs our ability to navigate the dangerous situations that confront us all.

Peter tells us the devil is roaming about for just such an opportunity to catch us unawares, and his intention is not a game. He is not just out to surprise us like in a game of hide-and seek. His intention is to devour us. Like a lion devours its prey, the devil wants to remove us from the battlefield – make us of no consequence in the battle for truth, and unable to fight the good fight of faith, as the apostle Paul was able to do.

The word “vigilant” means simply to stay awake to the dangers all around us and ready to respond to the slightest indication of the enemy’s presence.

When I was in the army and on guard duty, I remember sneaking into the storeroom to steal just a few moment of sleep to relieve the boredom of the many hours of inactivity. Such behaviour could be disastrous to your walk with the Lord

The Devil’s on the Loose

(© Sunday 10th January 2016 – by Christopher Shennan)

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour… (1 Peter 5:8 – AKJV)

The devil’s on the loose, my Lord,

And I need your free Grace to stay

Awake and alert to danger –

Lest he cause me to go astray.

My heart still hungers for you, Lord;

It seeks your mercy and Your Grace,

But at times I feel so weary

That I fear I will lose the race.

I’m not always alert to danger

From that enemy of souls,

And I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep

While he pursues his evil goals.

Like a lion he roams about,

Devouring the unwary few,

But my only hope of safety,

Is seeking my safety in You.

Keep me sober and awake, Lord,

The dangers are out and about;’

Stay close beside me always.

In You I’m going to win – no doubt.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
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Angry Old Lion 50D by koorosh B on flickr. Copyright. Used under the CC BY 2.0 license: please note the Disclaimer at the previous link. We have made no changes to this photo, except possibly resizing.

Surviving Pain from the Past

Surviving Pain from the Past

“And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God [said he] hath made me forget all my toil, and all my Father’s house.” (Genesis 41:51 – AKJV)

Pain from the past can kill joy for the present, and smother hope for the future.

I know without knowing them that many people are living miserable lives because of an injustice done to them in the past, a tragedy they can’t forget, or a slight they can’t forgive.

It is impossible to list all that may bring us pain from the past; what pains one person may not pain another. Multitudes suffer some form of depression preventing them from living productive and fulfilling lives.

I am not blaming these people; not one of us knows what our reaction will be to any number of circumstances that may afflict us. We don’t know what incident in the past may cripple our ability to live life to the fullest.

I am in full sympathy with those who are in such a condition, but I want to offer them hope. Few have suffered the hatred and injustice that Joseph suffered. He was hated by his brothers. Most of them wanted to kill him because of their jealousy. He was sold as a slave, accused of sexual harassment, spent years in jail, and only eventually found recognition and a platform of influence and usefulness.

Through it all Joseph never faltered; he never allowed past injustice to poison his outlook or dim his vision of what God would do in his life. He was diligent in every situation he found himself in, and gave himself fully to the tasks immediately before him.

How did he do this? Was he some kind of superman the rest of us have no hope of living up to? No, he was an ordinary man with an extraordinary God. He kept on trusting against all odds. That is all he had – faith in God.

Someone says, “It can’t be that simple. There must be more to it than that.” There isn’t. That’s it. Faith in God, nothing more.

No matter what pains you have suffered from the past I won’t refer you to a psychologist or subject you to psychoanalysis. I’ll just give you a four word prescription: “Have faith in God.”

You can mock my advice. You can say it is an over simplification. No matter. It worked for Joseph. It has worked for multitudes since, and it has worked for me.

At last Joseph had a testimony to God’s faithfulness that could not be gainsaid or denied: “For God [said he] hath made me forget all my toil, and all my Father’s house.”

If Joseph were here to give you advice of how to survive the pains of the past, I am certain it would be the same as mine – “Have faith in God.”

Bad Memory*

(c) 17th May 1992 – by Christopher Shennan)

“And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God [said he] hath made me forget all my toil, and all my Father’s house.” (Genesis 41:51 – AKJV)

God has made my memory fade

In terms of grief I’ve known;

So that the pain of ancient hurt

Won’t make me ever prone

To evil tides of bitterness

That seek some men alone

God has brought His present power

To overwhelm the past.

His present Peace; the soul’s increase

To strip away the mask

Behind which blessing hid—

But recognized at last

Please visit  My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
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Figure 20 from “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.” Image by Guillaume Duchenne. Image is in the public domain.