Your Enemy Prowls Around Like a Roaring Lion
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5: 8 (NIV)
This was the first thing to pop into my head after the day I had yesterday. I had a full day planned. The best part was that I reworked my budget and was finally about to be able to start adding to my savings account again. Praise be to God that I was in the Word first thing yesterday. Otherwise, the rest of the day would have thrown me into a deep depression.
My daughter was at her girl’s group, so I decided to get caught up on some work. I was just getting into a good groove when someone aggressively started ringing the bell and knocking on the storm door. It was annoying, but I tried to be pleasant. It was the lawn man who was asking if he could go ahead and do my yard so that he could synchronize the yards he did on my street. I was fine with it so he got to work. I went back to my work. Not 15 minutes later, I hear a loud thud on my door and some muttering. I opened my door and the entire storm door glass came shattering down. There goes my plan of catching up on work.
After getting it cleaned up, we worked out a deal of how he would pay to replace the glass. However, where we live now, a lot of the service industries you need to be open on the weekends just aren’t. So, no getting a quote or an appointment on Saturday. Since I’d planned to replace the storm door with a security door this year anyway, I went to a big box store and set that up instead. That way, the lawn man didn’t have to pay for anything, it was something I was going to do anyway. Problem solved.
On to the next battle.
My daughter had plans to visit some friends in the afternoon, but those plans fell through. Since we were out dealing with the door, we decided to go ahead and get the car serviced since it was time for it. I was thinking that it would only take 30 minutes and cost maybe $50. It turned out that I needed to repair a serious issue that could have caused us to lose control while driving. So, more hours lost and money spent.
The bottom line, the money I’d budgeted for savings is now going to go to car repair payments and security door payments. The work I’d planned to get caught up on is still there. However, this verse made me a promise.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:6 (NIV)
I actually found that, even though my day was shot, I was not stressed. I needed a security door so now I’ll have one this week. God protected us from having a serious car accident because there was no indication of a major problem looming. Had the door not broken and the plans with friends not fallen through, there could have been a serious issue.
God is good, all the time!
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5: 6-9 (NIV)
I was able to resist the anger that would normally have built up. I was able to resist the feelings of utter despair due to finances. God knows the bigger picture and I was able to see His plan clearly. However, if when I can’t, I have faith that He cares for me.
When it seems that things are crashing down on you, do not give to the anger and despair. Yes, I complained, but I just as quickly praised God for watching over us and thanked him for the outcome. We need to praise Him, even when we don’t see the end game. As hard as that can be at times, we need to have faith. Humble yourself and God will lift you up in due time.
Have a blessed and prosperous week!