PSALM 7:1-2 – O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE ATTACKS OF SATAN. In today’s scripture, David is experiencing significant persecution and oppression from literal enemies. He likens their hatred and attempts to do him harm as a “lion seeking to tear his soul apart, rending it in pieces.” The imagery of a lion draws our attention to a New Testament parallel. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

As Christians, we hold dual citizenship. We live in this world and the world to come. The Apostle Paul told the Philippian believers, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). He would also remind the Colossae believers of where their life was truly located – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). When a Christian sees his or her life in this light, two things will happen. First, it makes us most effective for Christ. It is true that Christians whose hearts and minds are more centered on the next world and not this world will be the ones making the most difference for Christ in this world. Worldly-minded Christians are no threat to the kingdom of darkness. They offer no resistance to the forces of evil. Christians who live for and invest themselves in this world are not only disobedient children of God, but ineffective soldiers of the Lord Jesus. However, be a Christian who sees life in this world as temporary to be lived on God’s mission of living for and proclaiming Christ and the “roaring lion” is awakened and active. This leads to the second thing which happens in a Christian living for eternity – Satan is enraged. The devil cannot get directly to Christ so he will, as a lion, seek to devour Christ’s people. He will do so in a myriad of ways. Here are three areas of his attack on us.

First, Satan will seek to divert and distract us from seeking fellowship with Christ in His Word and prayer. He knows if he can cut us off from communing with the “Vine”, the Lord Jesus, he will drain us of all spiritual power and thus spiritual focus (John 15:1-9). The result will be a worldly Christian lying on the spiritual battlefield of life as a spiritual casualty.

Next, Satan will seek to exploit the weaknesses of our flesh leading us to soul-deadening and Christ-dishonoring sin. The devil knows human beings far more than human beings know themselves. Whatever area we are prone to be weak; lust, coveting, anger, or impatience, to name a few, the devil will hone in on those areas. We cannot feed any area of weakness for one second. If we do, be assured the devil will fuel this into a passion and sin will result. And it will cause us to lose sight of our eternal home and render our witness for Christ ineffective and confusing.

A final tactic of war used by Satan on God’s children to slay them and stop their work for Christ is simply get them busy. If he cannot tempt us to sin, he will tempt us to fill our lives with a lot of good things and leave no time for the best thing – the work of the Gospel. It is very easy to invest so much time in good worldly activities and events that we have no time for the things of God. Satan gains great victories against Christ and His church if he can so fill a Christian’s life with the world leaving no time for the ministry of the Word.

Friends, as Christians, we live in two worlds and if we put our attention on where our real life is located – in Christ, in heaven – expect great opposition from the devil, but also expect great help and protection from the Lord, just like David in today’s scripture.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to hide in both Your love and power in my fight against evil.”

QUOTE: “God is our refuge of comfort and safety from all the onslaughts of the evil one.”