Even The Strongest Can Fall

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

There was a real boxer fighting his opponent, and his trainer was in the corner trying to encourage him. Round after round, he's just getting pummeled. The trainer keeps saying, "Man, that guy hasn't laid a glove on you!" Finally, the boxer says, "Throw in the towel." The trainer says, "He hasn't laid a glove on you. You can do it. You're fine." The guy says, "Well then take a look at that referee, because somebody is killing me."

That's exactly what happens to us. We look at our world and see difficulties, dangers, struggles, strife, disease, frustration, and wonder what's happening. This cannot be explained any other way than what the Bible calls the adversary of our souls - Satan himself. Peter says "be sober, be vigilant" because we have a tendency of not recognizing our potential weaknesses.

Even Peter himself - who could say "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16) - in the very next breath told Jesus He couldn't go to the cross. Jesus looked past Peter to the spiritual force at work and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan" (Matthew 16:23). He wasn't calling Peter Satan; he was recognizing that Satan was using Peter to tempt Jesus to avoid the cross.

How is it that David - a man after God's own heart, courageous enough to go against Goliath - could ultimately fall into sin? Because he was relaxing when he should have been alert, coasting when he should have been in battle mode.

Peter, who said "I'll never deny you," did exactly that before the rooster crowed. Why? Because Jesus told him in Luke 22:31-32, "Satan has desired to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail."

The devil doesn't mind waiting for us. In football, good coaches write out the playbook of the other team, show video footage to expose weak points and vulnerabilities. Satan has that kind of playbook on each one of us. He's been doing this for a long, long time.

Never get in your mind that you're too strong to fail. If David could fall, if Peter could fall, so can you and I.

We don't need to be afraid of him, but we do need to recognize we have vulnerabilities. The second you believe you're too strong to fail, you'll live your life without proper guardrails, without being watchful, sober, and vigilant.

Reflection Question: Are you living with healthy spiritual guardrails, or have you become overconfident in your own strength?

Heavenly Father, help me recognize that I'm not too strong to fail. I see from the examples of David and Peter that even the strongest can fall when they let their guard down. Help me be sober and vigilant, never becoming overconfident in my own strength. I am dependent upon You. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "Victory Over Satan": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/95gmbjy/23-victory-over-satan-1-peter-5-8-14