Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
The evil one, the devil, is not an imaginary being or a pretend force we dismiss as a childish fear. He and his power are real, and he intends to do us eternal harm! (Look at the poor man inhabited by a legion of demons in
Mark 5:1-20 and see what the evil one would like to do with all of us.) Instead of spending our time worrying about him, however, let's resist him when we are tempted and focus on Jesus. Jesus defeated the evil one and his horde of demonic spirits on the cross (
Colossians 2:15). Jesus won the big showdown at Calvary, triumphing over Satan. He took the evil one's greatest tool, death, and our fear of death, and disarmed it (
Hebrews 2:14-15). Now we can resist, and Satan will flee because of Jesus in us and for us (
James 4:7).
Thank you, Almighty God, for sending Jesus to break the evil one's stranglehold over us and our world. Through the Savior's death, you have assured us that our death won't be the end of our relationship, but the beginning of our life with you forever. Today, I ask that you help me especially resist the evil one's power and influence over my life. Through the power in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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