Daily
Devotional

Being followed by someone or something dangerous is a frightening experience. About a year ago, one of my sons who regularly rides his mountain bike in the Ashland, Oregon, watershed was stalked by a cougar. He did his best to frighten the animal away but had little success. Then he threw objects at the cougar, and at one point even picked up his bicycle to intimidate it. The animal would only go a little way off and then sneak back around to follow him again. Finally, my son was able to make a break for it. He jumped on his bike again and got away safely.

A number of years ago, one of my sisters was stalked by a man. In those days, this type of a crime was not taken seriously. In fact, it was not even considered a crime if the offender did not cause physical harm. At first, my sister thought it was just coincidence that this man showed up at the same places she went, but soon it became painfully obvious that he was stalking her. He was a frightening menace.

Sometimes we may innocently go about our daily business quite unaware of the spiritual battles taking place around us. However, our focus verse warns that we need to pay attention, because Satan is prowling around trying to harm us spiritually. That may sound frightening, yet we have nothing to fear because our God is well able to deliver us from the enemy’s attacks. Actually, the only frightening thing would be to not realize we are being stalked! Indeed, had my son not noticed the cougar following behind, he might have been fatally hurt; and my sister could have faced a similar outcome had she not been so keenly aware of her surroundings. As long as we know how much we need God’s protection and we keep our spiritual senses alert to any signs of danger, we can be defended when the enemy attacks.  

For decades, I have read my Bible twice each day. Quite often, on a Sunday evening a voice will say, “You probably don’t need to read this tonight, as you just came from church.” Recognizing it as the voice of the devil, I know immediately it is important for me not to neglect reading God’s Word. We must be vigilant if we are to overcome this stalker’s tactics.