Stay Alert, Stay Alive!

“Stay Alert, Stay Alive!” When I was in the military, this saying was pounded in our head. It goes far beyond just staying awake on guard duty. Most soldiers are killed while they are awake. If is hard to stay alert for an eight-hour shift, how much harder is it for believers to stay alert every waking hour? Peter warns us like this: 

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 

We are never not in the fight. The problem is we forget there is a fight going on the majority of the time. We forget there is a war for our soul and the souls of others going on all around us while we carry out the business of life, completely oblivious to 99% of the “real” stuff going on around the temporal things we engage in. The invisible is much more real, much more serious, and lasting than the visible. 

How great it is to have a High Priest who advocates to the Father on our behalf, praying that we would be alert and not fall into the snares of our adversary. 

The enemy does not sleep, but neither does our Protector and Redeemer. Still it is our duty to stay vigilant in prayer, and to be keenly on guard against attacks on us and our fellow brothers, who are often unaware of the enemy’s deceptions and snares laid out in plain sight. 

Stay Alert, stay alive!