"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8 NLT
On May 13 around 10 p.m. on Onset Avenue in Wareham, Massachusetts, Rene (who asked only to be identified by her first name) was about five miles into leg 12 of the Reebok Ragnar Cape Cod Relay when she heard what she thought was another runner approach her from behind. “Kind of thinking, 'Why isn't he passing me? There is nobody else around. Just go around me,'" Rene said. That's when the man began his attack, pushing her to the ground and strangling her. Thankfully a woman was nearby and yelled, scaring the attacker away. While the investigation is ongoing, Rene said she just wants to know who her attacker is.
In the middle of a publicized and sanctioned race with others around is certainly not where you would expect a person to get attacked is it? But it's yet another reminder that we should never let our guard down. And the same is true of our spiritual lives. The Bible warns us to "Stay alert!" and tells us exactly who our attacker is- the devil who "prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." And you know, just as Rene was assaulted while she was alone and not at all ready for it, we are most prone to attack when we are alone, or not in the safety of a body of believers, and not at all ready for it by being untrained in the Word that teaches us what to "watch out for" and how to fight back.
So may we be ever vigilant today and every day, to watch out for the enemy that seeks to destroy both our bodies and our spirits. Because as Billy Graham writes, "The devil will try to discourage you, to divert you; he will seek to dilute your testimony; he will attempt anything to destroy your relationship to Christ and your influence upon others." We must be ready.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminder that spiritual attacks can come out of nowhere and, if we aren't careful, destroy us. Help us to be trained in the Word to fight them and to be linked to a body of believers that will lift us up, keep us focused onYou and join us in the fight when necessary. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
Bulletproof - Citizen Way
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