By Josie Siler
I’ve been on an epic quest to kill my enemy. I never pictured myself a murderer, but if I’m honest, all I want is for my enemy to die. I want him dead and out of my life forever.
Are you shocked? You won’t be once you hear my story.
It all started a couple nights ago. I was lying in bed, sound asleep, minding my own business. That’s when I heard it. A scratching sound perked my ears and awoke me from my much coveted slumber. In my sleep induced stupor my brain couldn’t quite process what it was hearing.
In a moment it all because terribly clear. The scampering of tiny little toenails running across my hardwood floor shot straight to my brain as I bolted up in bed.
My hand shook as I reached for the switch on the small yellow lamp perched precariously on my nightstand. Could it be? My eyes quickly skimmed the room looking for the evidence I didn’t want to see.
Just as I was about to turn my light off and convince myself the noises were just in my head, I saw a shadow on the other side of the door. This shadow, it moved.
In the middle of my plea to God asking for deliverance a head peaked under the door, quickly followed by the sweep of a tail and the sound of little feet.
A rodent! My fears were confirmed.
I jumped out of bed, grabbed a garbage can to drop on his fat little head, and began to hunt my enemy. After searching the house I came up empty.
Convinced the mouse turned and ran because he saw my light, I proceeded to get a fitful night’s sleep under the glow of my bedside lamp.
Since that night I’ve been on a hunt to find and kill the evil rodent. To date the rodent is winning. I’ve decided it’s a shrew. Shrews are smarter than mice and whatever is in my house is smart. It’s tricky, evil, and enjoys messing with me.
I’m not afraid anymore; I’m angry.
I’ve been on an epic quest to kill my enemy. I never pictured myself a murderer, but if I’m honest, all I want is for my enemy to die. I want him dead and out of my life forever.
Are you shocked? You won’t be once you hear my story.
It all started a couple nights ago. I was lying in bed, sound asleep, minding my own business. That’s when I heard it. A scratching sound perked my ears and awoke me from my much coveted slumber. In my sleep induced stupor my brain couldn’t quite process what it was hearing.
In a moment it all because terribly clear. The scampering of tiny little toenails running across my hardwood floor shot straight to my brain as I bolted up in bed.
My hand shook as I reached for the switch on the small yellow lamp perched precariously on my nightstand. Could it be? My eyes quickly skimmed the room looking for the evidence I didn’t want to see.
Just as I was about to turn my light off and convince myself the noises were just in my head, I saw a shadow on the other side of the door. This shadow, it moved.
In the middle of my plea to God asking for deliverance a head peaked under the door, quickly followed by the sweep of a tail and the sound of little feet.
A rodent! My fears were confirmed.
I jumped out of bed, grabbed a garbage can to drop on his fat little head, and began to hunt my enemy. After searching the house I came up empty.
Convinced the mouse turned and ran because he saw my light, I proceeded to get a fitful night’s sleep under the glow of my bedside lamp.
Since that night I’ve been on a hunt to find and kill the evil rodent. To date the rodent is winning. I’ve decided it’s a shrew. Shrews are smarter than mice and whatever is in my house is smart. It’s tricky, evil, and enjoys messing with me.
I’m not afraid anymore; I’m angry.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (NLT).” If my shrew were a lion he would be much easier to find and to fight.
We all know to be on the lookout for the devil, the roaring lion who wants to devour us. However, I firmly believe that sometimes the devil works more like a rodent than a lion.
When we don’t fall for his overt attacks and temptations, he switches tactics. He subtly tries to destroy us. He messes with us just enough that we’re distracted, off our game.
It’s like how the rodent in my house distracts me. The thought of him is always in the back of my mind. I added eight traps upstairs to the four already in my basement. After I found my lip gloss moved from the box on the end of my counter to the bottom of my sink I added eight more traps to my kitchen. And I got mad. When I woke up to find a trap set off, but no rodent, I got really mad.
In a similar way, when we realize that the devil is toying with us, our fear turns to anger. How dare he? How dare he indeed! We are children of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Satan was defeated at the cross. He holds no power over us except what we allow him to wield.
My rodent may mess with me, but in the end, I will win. He will die and I will be at peace.
The devil will mess with us. He just will; there’s no escaping it. However, we don’t have to live in fear of him. He has already been defeated and one day He will be thrown into the pit, never to bother us again.
When we see the atrocities happening in our world, it’s easy to be fearful. It’s easy to give the devil more credit than he deserves. It’s easy to forget that God has already won the war.
We need to remember that God can take the most horrendous of situations and create something good. He can shine the light of His love into the darkest of circumstances, allowing His glory to heal our brokenness.
Our hearts break at pain we see in the world, even as we fight our own battles. We’re prepared to be on the lookout for the prowling lion, but we must also be prepared to do battle with a small rodent. A lion can devour you with a few bites, but those rodents can devour you as well – nibble by tiny nibble.
How do we do battle against the lion and the rodent? 1 Peter 5:9 gives us the answer. “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
We should also put on the armor found in Ephesians 6 to protect ourselves against the enemy. Always remember that you don’t fight alone. Let’s commit to pray for each another because together we’re stronger. We can be confident of victory in each battle because the Lord is on our side and He has already won the war.
We all know to be on the lookout for the devil, the roaring lion who wants to devour us. However, I firmly believe that sometimes the devil works more like a rodent than a lion.
When we don’t fall for his overt attacks and temptations, he switches tactics. He subtly tries to destroy us. He messes with us just enough that we’re distracted, off our game.
It’s like how the rodent in my house distracts me. The thought of him is always in the back of my mind. I added eight traps upstairs to the four already in my basement. After I found my lip gloss moved from the box on the end of my counter to the bottom of my sink I added eight more traps to my kitchen. And I got mad. When I woke up to find a trap set off, but no rodent, I got really mad.
In a similar way, when we realize that the devil is toying with us, our fear turns to anger. How dare he? How dare he indeed! We are children of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Satan was defeated at the cross. He holds no power over us except what we allow him to wield.
My rodent may mess with me, but in the end, I will win. He will die and I will be at peace.
The devil will mess with us. He just will; there’s no escaping it. However, we don’t have to live in fear of him. He has already been defeated and one day He will be thrown into the pit, never to bother us again.
When we see the atrocities happening in our world, it’s easy to be fearful. It’s easy to give the devil more credit than he deserves. It’s easy to forget that God has already won the war.
We need to remember that God can take the most horrendous of situations and create something good. He can shine the light of His love into the darkest of circumstances, allowing His glory to heal our brokenness.
Our hearts break at pain we see in the world, even as we fight our own battles. We’re prepared to be on the lookout for the prowling lion, but we must also be prepared to do battle with a small rodent. A lion can devour you with a few bites, but those rodents can devour you as well – nibble by tiny nibble.
How do we do battle against the lion and the rodent? 1 Peter 5:9 gives us the answer. “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
We should also put on the armor found in Ephesians 6 to protect ourselves against the enemy. Always remember that you don’t fight alone. Let’s commit to pray for each another because together we’re stronger. We can be confident of victory in each battle because the Lord is on our side and He has already won the war.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen. - 1 Peter 5:10-11
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