The Hunted

1 Peter 5:8-11

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
(NIV)


This past Saturday night I was in my deer stand and as I was soaking in the beauty of God’s creation all around me, I began reflecting upon the previous Men’s Conference I had just attended at my Church. Each time I go to hunt there is a process I go through before I go out into the woods. I keep my hunting clothes in a duffel bag that has tree branches and leaves in it so my clothes will smell more like the woods instead of my closet. I bathe with sent free soap so I won’t smell like Irish Spring. I have a pair of hunting boots that I only wear in the woods so I don’t pick odors like gas and oil from parking lots. Once I drive up to where I hunt before I walk into the woods I rub some cedar leaves and dirt on my clothes to cover my human odor. Why do I do this? Because I know my prey, I know that my prey can smell 1,000 times better then I can. I sit there in a camouflage hunting blind in camouflage clothing and I wait patiently for the deer to come close to me.

As I was sitting there in the middle of the woods I was remembering the message that was preached. The message was about David and the Amalekites. David and his Mighty Men had returned to their homes and families from battle only to find that their women and children had been kidnapped and their home ransacked. Their enemy had waited for the right time and attacked their town while all the men were away. As I thought about that message, I began to think that here I am hunting a wild animal and while I am doing so Satan is hunting me, my wife, and my children. The devil is camouflaging himself, searching around our lives looking for a weak area in our lives so he can set up and wait for us. He is baiting us, trying to get us close to him and away from God so he can lead us astray and destroy our faith.

One of our greatest needs today is to be alert in the faith. Satan has a plan to devour everyone of us and our loved ones. We must resist him by praying constantly through out the day, reading the Word of God, and surrounding ourselves with other believers. As we fellowship we encourage each other, confess our struggles to one another, and strengthen each other. We must guard ourselves against loneliness (for that is when Satan likes to attack the most). Ask yourself today “What is Satan’s plan of attack for me?” The best defense is a strong offense. It is our goal to be strong, firm and steadfast. We can’t do that alone, we need the fellowship of our Church and our Pastor: ‘For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Matt 18:20NIV)’