Be Watchful

"Be sober-minded; 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 kinds of are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." ~ 1 Peter 5:8-9

The Bible warns us to be watchful more than once.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Does that make you feel like prey? We are. There are so many distractions. So many difficulties in this life. It is very easy to take our eyes from our goal. To live like Christ ~ For Christ. There are so many opportunities for satan to attack us. He has many things to use against us. Things that are in our human nature. Pride. Anger. Discouragement. Things that can be twisted and turned from things of God ~ to things for our own wants.

How many times do we get angry at our family? How many times has pride hurt a relationship? How many times do difficulties turn into discouragement? I believe that anger can be justified. It's in the Bible. God's even been angry. But, (a looking in the mirror moment) most of my anger is not to further help God's mission. It's because something happened at home or work. Pride, well, it's just in human nature. It is hard to be the one to say their sorry. It's hard to be the first one to let go of the hurt/anger and open your hands and heart. Discouragement is a biggy. This world is full of pain. It is so easy to get discouraged. I believe it happens to everyone. When we are down, that the easiest for satan to make it feel so much worse.

So, we must be watchful. For ourselves. For our families. For each other. Be the encourager. Work on controlling the anger and swallowing our pride. Pray for one another. I know that it's a tall list. Lucky for us, we have Christ helping us. And, with Him, anything is possible.