Evil spirits delight in their perverse desire to cause harm to humanity, ceaselessly seeking vulnerable souls to devour and wreak havoc upon. An insidious passion fuels their malevolent presence, bringing suffering and chaos into the world.

Do you understand what this means? It means the accuser is roaming seeking accusations to bring before God to prove your guilt.

Be sober [well-balanced and self-disciplined], always be alert and cautious. That enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. 
1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober-minded; be watchful.

We need to be spiritually vigilant, watching for attacks from the devil, our great enemy and opponent.

Peter uses the graphic image of a lion as a metaphor to describe Satan’s destructive threat:

He prowls around… To prowl means to move around quietly on the hunt.

Devouring can be defined as the inherent skill of consuming a substance or object with fervor, savoring every portion, and ensuring that none is left unfinished. Wholehearted gratification and contentment characterized this practice.

The accuser futilely desires to instill terror in God’s people during times of hardship and persecution and strives in vain to deceive us into succumbing to sin.

Though the devil may threaten to “devour” Christians, we have the assurance that God’s power will guard us.

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 
1 Peter 5:10

“Resist him”. We need not fear the devil, for our Lord has given us power to stand against him by being firm in our faith.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11-12

Trusting in God’s promises, believers know that suffering is not the final word and that ultimately they will be exalted.

 Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 
James 4:7-8

The outside evil forces which come against us demand that we stay alert.

The devil … (like a roaring lion) The Greek word for “devil” here means “slanderer”…

The slanderer’s forces are always active, looking for opportunities to overwhelm the believer with temptation, persecution, and discouragement.

There is a conspiracy of her [false] prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured life; they have taken [in their greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows among her…

Ezekiel 22:25

Satan sows discord, accuses God to men, men to God, and men to men.

He will do what he can to drag the Christian out of fellowship with Christ and out of Christian service.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3–4

The Accuser constantly accuses believers before God’s throne, attempting to convince God to abandon them. Day and night we are being accused, READ Job 1:6–12…

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Revelation 12:10

Let us cease condemning and casting blame, for if we follow Christ we know goodness comes from within His people. The accuser seeks to divide us, but in the name of Christ, we must unite and lift each other up. His message was one of love and peace – aiming our words at each other in condemnation only tarnishes His teachings.