Watch Out For Traps!
By Susan Klein
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
During the Vietnam War, our troops were engaged in some pretty intense jungle combat. The jungle was familiar territory to the enemy and he used it to his advantage, setting traps and lying in wait. Our troops had to be alert constantly, always on the lookout for one of these traps lest they fall prey. Every step they took could lead them into a torturous or life-ending situation.By Susan Klein
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
As Christ-followers, we face a combat of a similar sort. Though our battle is spiritual in nature rather than physical, our enemy is just as crafty! He knows his territory and he knows our weaknesses. He sets up traps of deceit and temptation and lies in wait, hoping to catch us off guard so we will fall prey to his cunning tactics. That is why God’s Word tells us to remain self-controlled and alert! We must be just as aware of traps as a soldier in combat.
One major advantage we have in our combat is that our Savior, when He walked this earth as fully man, was tempted in all the same ways that we are today. He’s been there, and he sympathizes with us. God’s Word shows us two things He is willing to do for us when we are faced with the traps of temptation. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God promises to: 1) Set a limit on the intensity of our temptation, and 2) Provide a way out so we can stand up under it. Unlike the soldiers, we will never be caught in a situation where there is no way out! And we will never be tempted beyond what we can humanly bear.
God has equipped us with His Word, the Sword of the Spirit, and indwelled us with His Holy Spirit, our Battle Guide. We are never alone or without a leader as we attempt to sidestep the traps set by the enemy. Though God promises to provide a way out, we must choose to take it. He will not force us, rather He will, through His Holy Spirit within us, point us in the right direction. The choice is ours.
Be alert! Watch out for traps!
GOING DEEPER:
1. When you are facing a trap of temptation, do you purposefully look for “the way out”?
2. How might you make better choices to avoid areas of temptation altogether?
FURTHER READING:
Job 1:6-12; Luke 22:31-32; Hebrews 2:14-18
Susan is a wife and mother of two. She is the Coordinator of Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and one of its teachers.
