How Did That Happen?
March 8, 2023
I received the call from my mom, sometime back in 2005. “I need you to come look at the shed.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Something’s torn the siding off.”
When I got there, I could barely believe my eyes. The other side of the shed looked much the same. “How did that happen?”
Turns out, best we can tell, dogs did it. She’d heard and seen dogs at the shed a couple of times but had not witnessed them destroying the siding. We surmised they had chased some animal under the shed and then began tearing at the shed in an effort to get at it.
When I look back at the photos, I’m still surprised dogs could or would do this. But at the same time, if they were hunters and their prey appeared to be just out of reach, I guess they’d do all they could to get to it.
Satan is no different.
Peter wrote his letter, 1 Peter, to both Jew and Gentile Christians. He’d lived close to Jesus for more than three years and often pointed the early Christians to Christ as an example.
How Did That Happen? #hope #joy #writingcommunity Click To TweetHe advised them to be good shepherds and to look forward to the coming of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus. He reminded young Christians to be subject to their elders. In addition, they were to humble themselves under God, casting their anxieties on Him.
Then Peter gives a warning that conjures a visual like the shed with its siding torn away.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV)
“The devil prowls like a roaring lion looking for food. He seeks to devour us by bringing legal accusations in the spiritual realm against us to cause destruction in the lives of God’s people. He wants to keep you from advancing God’s kingdom on earth, and don’t think you can fly under his radar. He wants to destroy you. So be firm in the faith.” [1]
Those words from Tony Evans describe what I believe happened to my mom’s shed. Whatever poor animal found themselves the prey of those dogs, found refuge under the shed. I can imagine just how sober-minded and watchful the prey must have been after the dogs had headed off to other business.
You and I should be that watchful. Satan is no joke and when Peter tells Satan wants to devour us, that’s exactly what he wants to do. If we’re not standing firm in the faith, there’s a good chance we’ll be looking back one day, as I looked at Mom’s shed and asking ourselves, “How did that happen?”
[1] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 1358.
Great analogy, Tim. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Joni.
It is scary to see the damage done when something is trying its best to get at you. Your comparison to Satan coming after us is so real. Sometimes I feel like that poor shed as he tries to tear me down to get my heart, mind, and soul. Thanks for a great post and reminder to stand firm in the faith, Tim.
Thank you, Jane. You are so right. Satan will go to great lengths to get at those things in us he knows are susceptible to him. Appreciate your comments so much.
What a great photo to show that the enemy will go to any length to get to us and what he wants in and from us. And how we need to ensure our “siding” is intact and fortified with Gods word.