Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. (1 Pet. 5:8–9)
HUNGRY LIONS DON’T ROAR until they’ve cornered or killed their victims. Although they can run as fast as fifty miles an hour in short spurts, they don’t have the stamina to catch the antelopes and zebras that are their common prey. They need to get close before being discovered, and roaring too soon would warn the intended victim and allow it to escape.
Unlike antelopes and zebras, people can’t outrun a hungry lion. Photographers and hunters go in groups and stay as far away as possible. But if they are caught without a weapon of their own, then their best chance for survival is to stand still and hope for a good shot by a companion.
We can’t outrun the Devil, either, and if we venture out on our own we risk being devoured. But we don’t have to face Satan alone. As James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
That’s how Daniel survived the lions’ den. King Darius issued a decree forbidding people to worship anyone other than the king. Daniel continued to pray to God, and he did it openly. He didn’t run or back down. Daniel stood firm in his faith, and God shut the lions’ mouths. Stand firm in your faith, and God will protect you from the Devil.
Read Daniel 6:1–23 and tell the story to a child.
Kathryn Page Camp enjoys photography, reading, and sailing Lake Michigan with her husband of thirty-five years.
