1 Peter 5:8, NIV: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

It is often overlooked; the terrible truth, that is. That being, that we are not alone. We are oppressed by unseen evil, forged in Satan's hellish fires. We often pin our problems and pains on people, or various circumstances; seeing such things as the perpetrator while forgetting there is an adversary who actively looks for ways to make us stumble. The people or circumstances we struggle with are merely the devil's pawns. And so, we trip over the unseen schemes of the devil; fall to the ground, or break a leg, or worse. So, be "alert," Peter implores us! For Peter understood the wiles of the adversary. It was certain the words Jesus had spoken earlier to him were still etched in his mind; when Jesus had told him, "Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail" (Lk. 22:31). And like Simon Peter, we are not without the prayers of our Lord who intercedes for us at the right hand of God (Rom. 8:34). Christ is with us. When we trip over the devil's devices, Jesus is ready and able to get us back to our feet. As we draw near to Christ, He will help us to more clearly see Satan's snares, and learn how to avoid them. So be near to Christ; "be self-controlled and alert." Be ever waiting on the Lord. Be in the Word of God. Be trusting. Be still. Be listening. And always be careful to beware the roaring lion.