Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The Prowling Devil Stalks Us, But God is Powerful! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 5:10-11,

"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. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Peter speaks of the believer's need to be "alert and of sober mind" because of the devil. Peter explains the devil is our enemy, verse 8, and prowls around like a roaring lion - as if he is stalking us, he looks for believers to devour.

Peter says that because of this, the whole family of believers undergoes a similar kind of suffering. However, as our verse above points out, after we have suffered for a time at the devil's hand, God will intervene and restore us. The end result of this is that the Lord makes us "strong, firm and steadfast." Then, as to assure us, Peter provides a short doxology, "To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Why does God do this? Why does he allow this in our lives? He does it because we need to grow strong, firm and steadfast in our faith. The truth is we do not show up that way when we embrace Jesus Christ in faith. As new-born believers, we need to grow up and mature in our faith.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11.

As we grow older in our faith, we begin to develop the confidence that we can trust the Lord to see us through these trials. After all, as we read in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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