Satan 1 Peter 5:8,9 be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.
Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an a more opportune time.”
Be watchful… Stay alert…. The enemy is prowling around LOOKING for someone… Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you… Princes sit plotting against me…. The wicked have laid a snare for me….
Another opportune time for Satan to attack is after a ‘spiritual high’. You have some kind of significant experience with Jesus. You attend a conference or seminar or see God answer some type of major prayer request; maybe even you see or experience a miracle. You are spiritually high. At this point in time, your guard may be down. You feel so close to Jesus and so ‘spiritual’ that you feel that you are ‘bullet proof’. It is at this point that Satan can launch a barrage of flaming arrows in your direction.
Remember Elijah called down fire from heaven, and God answered! It was miraculous. It led to the killing of false prophets and a wholesale revival in the land. It also led to a death warrant being issued for his live. With 48 hours, Elijah was depressed, alone, tired, and stressed, and actually became suicidal. How fragile we humans are!
After Jesus came down from the mount of transfiguration, the very first thing he encountered was a group of defeated disciples. They were unable to cast a demon out of a man. Satan sent a more powerful demonic force than the ‘run of the mill’ demon. Jesus said, ‘this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.’
After a braggadocio Peter said, “If all these guys fall away, I won’t. I’m stronger willed, I am superior to these guys, I love you more than these guys…” (my paraphrase), within hours, he was denying Jesus to a slave girl. 1 Cor 10:12,13 say, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
I long for you to have spiritual highs with Jesus. But I also long for you to be temperate, not letting your highs get too high or your lows too low. In either emotional extreme Satan finds an opportune time. We are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and not let our emotions to run amok making us vulnerable to demonic suggestions.
I covet your feedback. If you have experienced this please tell me. If you don’t feel comfortable posting on line, then please email me: breehm@comcast.net
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