"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. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen."
1 Peter 5:8-11 NLT
I think there's a lot to take in right here.
1.) I think it is so important to realize that it is the devil we war against. Not people or feelings or addictions. He knows our human weaknesses and will use them in the most subtle ways to keep us from being whole in ourselves and therefore unable to be effective for others. We must "stand firm and be strong in our faith."
2.)It is important to remember that we aren't the only ones going through trials.
I am personally bad at being so self concerned that I forget to think about the trials of others and pray or help them. I saw yesterday where New Life Church had put out a list of how we could be praying for the flood victims around us. Never occurred to me.
On the flip side there is hope in knowing we are all in this together and in knowing that others have come out the other side of the fire we are walking through!
3.)"So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation."
We go through seasons but none of them last forever. It's a lot easier to see this as you get older and have experienced more seasons. In hindsight some of the times I thought were the darkest or was even convinced were the end were so short and I feel so duped to have lost that time believing the devil's lies.
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