Let's Go To The Circus: The Lion Tamer

Be steadfast and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

The circus lion tamer is a brave man. The roar of the lion brings fear to the audience, but not to him. Although the lion is a ferocious beast, he has met his match with a skilled lion tamer. 

Satan is the lion in our lives. We need to know our enemy before we can deal with him.

Satan was an anointed cherub set apart for God’s Divine purpose. He perverted that power and sought to be like God. Isaiah 14 tells about the fall. How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:12).

Angels are referred to as stars in the Bible. Revelation 12:4  calls Satan the red dragon and describes him sweeping a third of the stars out of the sky and flinging them to earth. Although Satan is only one angel, he took legions of angels with him when he fell from Heaven. These fallen angels became the demons we fight every day. Satan commands them. 

Satan’s number one goal is to keep us from accepting Christ as our Savior. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).When he can’t attain his first goal, he and his demons set about tempting Christians with a myriad of worldly pleasures. 

Satan is a liar. Jesus chastised the Pharisees who challenged Him.” You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Jesus goes on to describe Satan as the father of all lies.

Our evil foe has many tricks up his sleeve. Our God is greater. Satan’s time is limited. God is forever. We must remember that the ultimate battle will end with Satan and his angels thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where he will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10 tells of his demise.

How do we tame this roaring lion? We can’t, but God can. We can cause Satan to retreat when he tempts us. What better weapon to use than scripture. Jesus used it in the wilderness. Speak of God’s promises, quote verses that show God’s power, and hide God’s Word in your heart.

Do you have a specific temptation? Prayer is another volatile weapon. Ask God to give you wisdom to fight the temptation Satan puts in your path. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Dear Father, Teach us to use scripture and prayer against the roaring lion as we battle him in our lives.

Janice Yandell