Genesis 3:1-6 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”  This scripture lays the foundation for this message. It tells that since the beginning of time, it has been the devil’s plan to deceive and destroy the souls of mankind. On his first recorded attempt, he succeeded. King Solomon once said “…there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). There is a song we sang as children in Gleaner service that says “The devil is a sly old fox. I’d like to catch him and put him in a box. Lock that box and throw away the key, for all the things he’s done to me.” His deceptions are not new tricks. He has repeated them for centuries. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.“ The portion of this scripture, “seeking whom he may devour” is his ultimate goal!

The devil knows the end is near and is working harder than ever to put fear into the children of God so he may devour them. We can see this in our loved ones’ lives and yes, even in The Church today. Let me share some valuable information about lions here. Lions, in the prime of life, are amazing predators. They prowl and patiently lie in wait for prey. Without warning, they sneak out of hiding, silent and ready to attack. Then at the last moment, they swiftly run to catch and kill their victim. The lions who are best at this type of attack are not the cubs, nor are they the elderly lions. They are the ones with strength coupled with fierceness. They have a tactic that does not require them to make a noise because they are strong and greatly feared. But I want to focus more on old lions, as that is what the devil is portrayed as in the Scripture. Old lions suffer at the end of the life cycle. They are slow and weak, have lost their teeth, and are unable to pursue and take down prey. Years of battles and hunting have worn them down and they struggle to be the King of the animal kingdom. Unlike his ways as a prime lion, the old lion must rely on a different style of attack to survive. Where the younger lion hides and slowly sneaks up on its prey, the old one will lie in wait, and when it is time for the attack, he will instill fear in his prey with a ROAR! To be able to take prey the old lion must roar. While this sounds fairly harmless, it is how they overcome their prey. Remember Peter said in the Scripture, “because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion…” So Peter is referring to the devil as an old lion, weak and worn, but yet still a lion! Peter is telling us the devil emulates the old lion who will surprise and frighten you. But he cannot pursue and defeat you. You must submit to the devourer for him to claim victory over you as his “victim”.

Reverend C.H. Spurgeon once said, “Satan… can never be content till he sees the Believer utterly devoured. He would tear him in pieces, and break his bones, and utterly destroy him if he could. Do not, therefore, indulge the thought that the main purpose of Satan is to make you miserable. He is pleased with that, but that is not his ultimate end. Sometimes he may even make you happy, for he has dainty poisons sweet to the taste which he administers to God’s people. If he feels that our destruction can be more readily achieved by sweets than by bitters, he certainly would prefer that which would best effect his end.” I add to that… remember Adam’s wife! We must be on guard and be able to recognize the tactics of the enemy. The Bible tells us in James chapter 4 that we must “draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh unto us.” (James 4:8) Then and only then when we resist the devil he must go away. He cannot do anything but leave if we follow this simple recipe because it is the Bible. If God says it, you can underline it, circle it, bold the font, and draw arrows to it… it will come to pass! Therefore, if we draw ourselves to God and resist the devil, he must go! It is that simple. It is plainly put, but most of all, it is Biblical. Had Eve done that with the serpent she would not have eaten the fruit. If we commit this to our spiritual walk, it is certain that we will not fall prey to the devil! Here is a thought to consider as well. Often, we think that Satan attacks like a roaring lion. Why? Because he knows how to put fear in us. But listen to me. The devil’s very first attack was a subtle one! That is why we are instructed to be vigilant and sober. This means to be sharp-minded for lack of better terms. The only way we can do this spiritually is to draw closer to God in prayer and our daily walk with The Almighty One. The Holy Ghost empowers us to overcome the enemy. The Bible says, “greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)  I am reminded of a song that says, “Satan’s like a roaring lion roaming to and fro seeking whom he may devour, the Bible tells me so. Many souls have been his prey to fall in some weak hour. But God has promised us today his overcoming power. Greater is He that is in me, greater is He that is in me, greater is He that is in me than he that’s in the world!” Remember my friend that Satan is working hard because he knows his time is short. When the enemy rushes in like a roaring lion we need to already be drawn to God so that we can resist him, and we know that he will flee. When he attacks with strong vengeance just simply say, “Greater is He that is in me, God, I submit myself to you. I resist you devil, and now you must go!”

Tom Carver, Trion, Georgia