1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

There are usually two ditches on any subject and that is true when it comes to your adversary, the devil.  Some people blame everything that goes wrong on the devil, but it is not always the devil doing it.  Sometimes we make bad decisions that cause our problems.  On the other hand, when it is the devil, there are some believers who don’t even recognize that the enemy is the one causing their problems, so they either end up blaming God for things that the devil has done or they are so natural, they don’t recognize anything going on in the realm of the spirit.

The truth is that spiritual attacks come to everyone.  First Peter 5:8 tells us that we should be sober and vigilant because we have an enemy, an adversary, who hunts like a lion, and he is looking for someone to devour.  The King James says, “Whom he [the devil] may devour.”  That means it is up to us whether he is able to devour us or not.  But make no mistake, the devil attacks anyone and everyone he can.  In Ephesians 6:10-11, we are told to be strong in the Lord and to put on our fighting uniform, so we can stand against the wiles of the devil.  To be caught without our uniform on in the spirit will cause us to be defeated by our adversary.  The Word of God also warns of the devil’s weapons that are formed against us but tells us they will not prosper (Isaiah 54:17).  So, we know the devil is coming, he hunts like a lion, and we have to get our battle clothes on because he is forming weapons.  This could be overwhelming if we don’t realize that we are able to stand against and win in any conflict we have with the devil or any circumstance he would use to try and defeat us.

We have been given weapons that win.  The first thing you must do is to have a revelation of the name of Jesus, so you can use that name against anything that comes.  It is a name that everything has to bow to.  James 4:7 tells us to submit to God and resist the devil, so that means you can resist the devil.  We are told in 1 Peter 5:9 to resist the devil steadfastly in the faith.  Just like the Lord told the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient,” God’s standing grace is also sufficient for you.  You have the power of God to resist anything the devil is doing.  It is not by grace that we’re supposed to just take it; it is by grace that we are supposed to resist what the devil is doing.  Thank God the Lord didn’t say to just take it and soon it will all be over.  He gave us weapons.  Use your shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts that the devil sends toward your mind.  Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and chase the devil and his circumstances out of your life!

You and I must make up our mind that when the devil comes, we will stand, take up our weapons, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony because God always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus.  Let’s be like the Apostle Paul and boldly declare, “None of these things move me” (Acts 20:24).  You are more than a conqueror, and you have the victory.  The devil is a defeated foe, and you will always win with the Word of God in your heart and your mouth.