Nothing to Fear

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

Several years ago while on a mission trip to Belize, I had the opportunity to visit a local zoo. I was looking through my camera lens at a female jaguar when I realized that she was stalking me. If it hadn’t been for the wired fence between the two of us, I’m pretty sure I would have been on that jaguar’s lunch menu. Behind the safety of the wired fence, I had nothing to fear. 

Peter warns us to watch out for our enemy, the devil, who is prowling around looking for someone to devour. “Stand firm against him,” he says, ”and be strong in your faith.”

The bible is full of testimonies of faith. It was faith that saved Moses from death to become Israel’s deliverer. Faith brought Israel through the Red Sea. Faith shut the mouths of lions. Faith overcame a fiery furnace. Faith brought down city walls. Faith raised loved ones from the dead. And the list goes on. 

Our faith is like a wired fence between us and danger. If we stand firm against the enemy, strong in our faith, we have nothing to fear.