Christianity is full of so many wonderful things: love, peace, security, a God who guides us, etc. However, it’s so easy for us to forget that there is someone out there who does not want us to have these things, and he’s constantly on the lookout to take them away. But if we understand Satan’s reasoning, tactics, and understand our own weaknesses, we will be so much more equipped when those attacks come. 1 Peter 5:8-9 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Going back to our rope bridge, we will compare Satan to the “prowling lion” of the Amazon: the jaguar.
- Like Jaguar’s beautiful spots are used as camouflage, Satan tries to hide himself in plain sight. He wants us to be comfortable with his presence, or completely unaware of it, to make us more susceptible to attacks. We need to know what the real truth looks like so we are not easily deceived.
- Jaguars stalk their prey. Satan also watches and studies us to see our weaknesses and when the best time to strike would be.
- Jaguars hunt in the dark. Satan wants us to so far from the light of Jesus that we are unable to see what is really around us. However, Satan can “see in the dark” and that puts him at a huge advantage if we are in that situation. (John 8:12 Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”).
- Satan hates that we are walking toward Jesus, and will do whatever he can to stop us. He does this in 3 ways: 1. Trying to lure us away from Jesus. 2. By giving us so much anxiety about all of the bad things around us that we are paralyzed in fear. 3. By making us complacent with where we are and therefore we lose the drive to move forward.
- A huge tool that we are given to combat and protect is to team up with other people. They will strengthen us, encourage us, and warn us when they see danger coming. Ecclesiastes 4:12, A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a trip-braided cord is not easily broken.
- While the Satan jaguar is dangerous and a force to be reckoned with, we have our very own Alpha male Lion: Jesus. And like a lion protecting its territory, Jesus fights for us and ALWAYS WINS through his death and Resurrection.
- Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
For more background on the rope bridges discussed in this podcast, see:
Episode 2
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