”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”. 1 Peter 5:8-9(NKJV)
The very first thing to note is that you have an enemy; the devil. The enemy is not your friend, he is not your spouse or your brother. Usually, people are confused about who their enemy is because the same way God can use you, is the same way the devil also uses people. Sometimes people are used of the devil without them knowing that the enemy is using them. That is why we should be very tolerant and forbearing.
It’s not everybody that’s a willing and conscious agent of the devil. For instance, you may have had a very bad day and you’re feeling low, and throughout the day the enemy might have been pounding you with bad thoughts of you’re not good enough; etc. Then as you walked into a room, the first person that saw you says, my God, you look washed out; What would that do to you? It would make you feel worse, right?
Question: Did the person know what the enemy was saying to you the whole day?
Of course not, but the enemy used them to make you feel even worse about yourself. It is therefore important to note that while the person did not want to be intrusive or invasive, it has affected you in the wrong way. That is why we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We should be merciful, compassionate, and gracious to people.
Even conscious agents of the devil, like the wizards and sorcerers are also deceived. Even though they act like they are conscious of what they are doing. The god of this age has blinded their minds and told them that they are the second in command to the him or promised them a rank.
The amplified bible says; ”Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]” 1 Peter 5:8-9 AMP
John 10:10 says ”The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”.
Jesus is not the thief, the devil is the thief and they are not pursuing the same agenda. They are not drawn from the same ministry. Praise the Lord Jesus.
The devil once told me when I was sick that God wanted to take me home. But I told him, God doesn’t need sickness to bring me home. In Hebrews 11:5 the Bible says ”By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”. Which of the patriarchs went home with sickness and disease? Do not allow the devil to steal from you.
God said, if anyone attacks you it is not by His doing, He is not the one behind it. He said, ‘I will not put on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that heals you”. God is not the one putting sickness on you. He is the one healing you. Jesus went about doing good, healing all those who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. You see, these are basic things. They are fundamental things and we must settle these basic things in our minds. Do not allow the devil to steal from you.
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