Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (AUDIO)

Commentary by — John W. Ritenbaugh

 1 Peter 5:6-8

(6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
King James Version

Satan may or may not be the cause of the situation, but even if he is not, he is prowling around to take advantage of it, in the hopes that he might pick us off. What does the roaring lion most likely attack? The strays, the ones on the fringes, and those not keeping up with the flock. Spiritually, the ones most likely to be attacked are those who are not spiritually with it. Wearied by a barrage of problems, they begin to separate themselves, then Satan, the roaring lion, picks them off.

He is especially adept at taking advantage of people’s feelings. All too often, we are dominated by our emotions rather than facts or, we could say, the truth of God. In such a circumstance, it is easy for us to get our feelings hurt, ignore the facts, and proceed to lie to ourselves, just as Satan did to himself when he first sinned.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Satan (Part 4)

Related Topics:
Bitterness
Emotions, dominated by
Fellowship, Forsaking
Satan’s Devices
Satan’s Stratagems
Satan’s Traps
Separation
Separation from Fellow man
Separation from Fellowship
Separation from God
Strays and fringers