Don’t Make Your Life His Playground
ICS Daily Devotions
1 Peter 5:8-11 (NKJV) 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. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
In this passage, God differentiates between the devil’s work and His love for us. The devil’s goal is to work on our pride against God, people, and especially against leadership, and to destroy us, steal our peace, and attack our faith in God. When we are proud, we make mistakes; we adopt an attitude toward God and people, and we won’t listen to anyone’s counsel, disregarding advice from the church or Scripture. We need to remember that God will not impose His will and ways on us because He has given us free will. He will allow situations to humble us and teach us life lessons. Sometimes the lesson can be heavy and difficult because of the choice we have made, but it will humble us and help us to start listening to Him. He has already cautioned us to be alert, on the watch, and wise in detecting the devil’s schemes.
Pride opens the door for the devil to make our lives his playground.
1. The devil will want us to make decisions apart from God and to walk in the flesh. Although God is sovereign, He allows us to make decisions and reap the consequences. Adam and Eve are a good example.
2. We will pay for the fleshly decisions that we make, and reap what we have sown, especially when we compromise our integrity in the marketplace. We will lose all credibility once our character is in question.
3. The devil will deceive us into thinking that God is the source of all the bad decisions and the oppressive circumstances in our lives.
4. The other weapon that the devil uses is to instil fear and anxiety into our lives.
We humble ourselves when we choose to live a consecrated life by choosing to submit to God’s will for our lives. Living the consecrated life is a way for us to express the Lordship over our lives. It helps to us make difficult decisions, walk away from deals, and not compromise our integrity because we know God is with us.
Reflection: Have you opened the door to the devil, or in what areas do you need to resist Him right now? How does the truth that “after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” encourage you?
Sermon Series: Are You Casting Your Cares to the Lord
