Don't be Lion Bait
I heard the other day of some missionaries who are involved in a country ministry of an African country. The setting is beautiful and far enough out, that it even has some interesting four-legged neighbours. Like the lions several workers and neighbours have spotted.
There aren’t supposed to be lions in their area, but someone forgot to tell the lions that they had travelled beyond their bounds!! I understand this has caused the folk who work there - especially if they're around after dark - to be just a little more vigilant when they're coming or going from their car. Personally, I think it's better for the person to see the lion before the lion sees the person!
Before you breathe a sigh of relief that you don't have a lion prowling around where you are, consider what the Bible says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" 1 Peter 5:8.
You see, Satan is a spiritual predator who stalks the children of God. He hates God, and he hates you because you were made in God's image, and he especially hates those who want to love, worship and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
And like a big cat, Satan is looking for an opportunity to pounce on you and bring you down. I'm sure you can think of times when he did just that. Now, the more you grow in Christ, the more you start to make a difference for Christ, the more the lion of hell is going to want to have you.
You worship regularly, and suddenly Satan springs out at you and gives you a thousand reasons why there is no need for you to be with the Lord’s people on Sundays. You have been giving sacrificially, but Satan springs out at you and reminds you of the list of things you haven’t got. Mind you, you don’t really need them, but suddenly they look very enticing, and you cut back your giving to the Lord.
Now these are just one or two ways we give the devil an opportunity to get to us. But a major way is actually spelled out in the warning we just read. You may be surprised what gives the lion his opening.
It's not just drugs or alcohol or sex or cutting back on worship and your giving - although he can and will certainly use those! Listen to what prompts Peter to tell us to be self-controlled and alert against the lion's attack. In verse 7, he says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
Implication: if you don't cast your worries on the Lord, you are giving the devil the opening he needs to bring you down. Imagine - worry is a favourite weapon of Satan to get you to do what he wants instead of what God wants. Why?
Well, for one thing, worrying makes you be all about yourself. You're focussed on your stress, your problems, yourself and not on the Lord who promises, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). The lion can bring you down. But he's no match for Jesus. When you're all about Jesus, you're invincible. When you're all about yourself, you're lion lunch.
When you dwell on your anxieties and fears, you tend to become discouraged - a condition Satan can use to get you to do all kinds of things you'll later regret. Worry takes you away from your time with God, away from your trust in God, away from good sleep - and plays havoc with important disciplines, so that you abandon the very things you need to keep strong in times of stress.
If your worries are a heavy backpack, bending you low, it's time you took off that backpack and gave it to the strong Friend who walks every step by your side. That's Jesus. You have no business carrying all that junk. He's asking you to put those worries on His shoulders.
When you do, you rob hell's devouring lion of one of his greatest tools to use against you. When Aussies say, "No worries, mate," they've got the right idea. You've got Almighty God asking for your backpack of anxiety. What in the world are you doing still carrying it around? Trying to be lion bait? Cast all your cares on Him - He cares for you! Grace and peace from our Lord and Saviour.