I enjoy watching nature movies, the grandeur of the landscape, the cuteness of the babies. What I don’t enjoy is the stalking of prey. The scene is the African savannah and a herd of gazelles are peacefully feeding and then off to the side we see the slinking, stalking of the lion. Yes, I understand that the lion needs to eat as well, but it so stressful to watch the gazelle scatter and to see the lion start to single one out to pounce on.
Who does the lion choose?
The young
The old
The weak
The slow
The alone
As we all know, the strategy is to single one out from the rest of the herd. Once the prey is alone it is usually pretty defenseless against the attack of the powerful lion. The prey’s strength is to stay with the herd.
So it is with the Christian life.
1 Peter 5:8- Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The devil also looks to disable the Christian, to make them ineffective and weak. What is our protection against the devil, our enemy?
Stay with the herd. Stay connected to God.
John 15:5- I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
In Hebrews 10:25- (do) not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Sometimes when we are not doing well we tend to isolate, withdraw from God and His word, and His people. Sometimes when we are doing well, we do the same thing – we rely upon ourselves, withdraw from God and His people. Either way we are putting ourselves in danger. By separating from the herd (God’s people) we leave ourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one, the devil.
The good news is that we do not have to be afraid of the devil and his power, as we stay connected to God we are connected to God’s strength.
1 John 4:4- You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
