Over the last few weeks I have been reminded of:

1 Peter 5:8: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.

Is this really true? I have been reading a book called “The Strategy of Satan” by Warren Wershe, published in 1979. This book has reminded me that we have an enemy who seeks to destroy us. Satan’s goal is to destroy us by attacking us in four main areas: mind, body, will and heart/conscience. The bible gives us clear instructions on how to defeat him. In Ephesians, Paul describes the armor that we need.

Satan’s goal is always to get to our will and mis-align it with God’s will. He may start by attacking the mind (as he did with Eve in the garden) or attacking the body (like he did with Job), but ultimately, he must get to our will.

I have been reminded of how feeble we are against his attacks when we refuse to put on our armor. How does that happen? The books describe our fight with the enemy on a daily basis. When we get out of bed in the morning, we are fighting against satan by saying “my body is the Lord’s”. The next step is reading His word and filling our “minds” with the necessary ammunition to counter-attack. Satan attacked God’s word when he deceived Eve. Next, we spend time in prayer and align our will with God’s will for our lives.

As Paul describes our armor, and I look around at my life and those around me, I wonder what my armor looks like to satan.

Is this what I look like? Am I bringing a squirt gun to fight a lion? What is the difference, spiritually, between a Roman soldier and a guy with a squirt gun? We begin “shedding” our armor when we allow sin into our lives and when we don’t exercise spiritually (worship, prayer, reading, and repentance-as needed). Satan is looking for holes in our armor where he can attack us and our families. He will do that any way he can: spiritually, physically, mentally (emotionally). Remember, he is a stalking lion, continually circling our lives, looking for “holes” in our defense, to “spring” forward and attack. Paul describes what we need to have as defensive (and offensive) armor and weapons. When satan shows up to attack your life, does he see you in funny glasses holding a squirt gun?