Under Attack?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

It's early, but not early enough for me to have enough time to get all my thoughts in print. Last night I asked Calvin if he thought that people REALLY believe in Spiritual Warfare. We talked about it for a moment, but nothing really settled in my heart.

This morning I awoke before the alarm with the same question on my heart.
"Do people REALLY believe in spiritual warfare?"
More to the point, do Christians really believe what 1 Peter 5:8 says?

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

To prowl is to move about in a predatory manner...to hunt.

Devour is a graphic word! It means to destroy completely. Completely:to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent.

Satan is not just milling around hoping to stumble across someone that he can ruff up a bit. He is on the hunt, and he is hunting for someone to completely destroy.

And yet, we are surprised when we are attacked.

Even more disturbing to me at this moment is the casualness in which Christians will say "I am being attacked"....perhaps they do not realize that Satan's goal is NOT to cause them discomfort, but to completely destroy them?

I have to sign off and get the kids up and ready for school and myself ready for work, but before I do...

I noticed something for the very first time this morning....look back at 1Peter 5:8. What does the first of that verse say?

Be self-controlled and alert.

I believe that herein lies the battle. If we TRULY believed that Satan was hunting for someone to destroy, saying "I am under attack" would sound more like "HELP! SATAN IS DESTROYING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET HIM OFF ME!!!! CAST HIM OUT!!!!!" If we truly believed that Satan was hunting for someone to destroy, we would not let our guard down and allow gossip, slander, lust, envy, hatred, unforgiveness, greed, jealously, and such to enter our lives. In fact, we would hate these things. We would love Self Control. We would be alert to any change in our environment that would indicate that the predator of our souls is near.

Instead, we casually say "I'm under attack" and go one about business as usual, allowing Satan to devour us at his leisure.

okay, i REALLY have to go to work,...

More on this later...