On what day do you expect the enemy to go easy on you? When will he treat you with compassion or kindness? He loves to mar your best days, and on your worst days, you’re an easy target. His express purpose is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He has no interest in your good, your benefit, or your survival. He’s never going to pull any punches. How do I know? Take a look at what he did to Job.
Job “was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil” (Job 1:1). But evil didn’t stay away from him. In one day, Satan destroyed everything in Job’s life, and when that wasn’t enough to make him curse God, Satan ruined his health. Job went from well-respected leader to scraping his skin “with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes” (Job 2:8). There’s nothing harmless about the enemy.
That’s why Peter warns, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Notice it doesn’t say he prowls around looking for someone to trip up or to lead astray or to give a bad day. It says he wants to chew you up and spit you out.
We do have a great enemy – the Accuser – but we also have a great Friend – the Advocate (1 John 2:1). Christ Himself prays for us, interceding with the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). If the enemy stands before the throne and asks to put our love to the test, the Savior stands before the throne and pleads for us (Luke 22:32). He asks God to meet us with mercy rather than judgment. To extend grace rather than condemnation. He offers His own Spirit as our strengthening aid (John 14:26), His own perfect love for the Father in place of our frail and faulty affection (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Maybe you’ve had a child who has gone through a serious illness. When they ask for something, you’re quick to say yes. You want a milkshake? Absolutely. You want another blanket, to watch that movie again? Let me get it for you. Maybe you’d like a pony? When Christ appears before the Father, what will the Father not give to the Son, who endured great suffering out of obedience and love? What request would He deny?
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. Romans 8:33-34
If God will not bring charges against us, what chance of success does the enemy’s plan have? Absolutely none. Don’t be surprised when he comes at you full throttle, but also don’t lose heart. You are beloved by God.
After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 5:10