In the book of 1st Peter, Jesus' disciple says this about Satan,
"Be sober; be watchful: Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking who he may devour... "1 Peter 5:7-9
This is reminiscent of what is written in the book of Job. In that story, the angels were in the process of "presenting themselves" to God; which, in the text seemed like more of a general occurrence than a one-time incident. In any case, one of the angels who "reported" was Satan, the enemy of God himself. According to our record, God began a conversation with His enemy by asking him a question. We know the question was significant because if it wasn't, it would not appear in the thousand year old text of the ancient scrolls which Peter referenced, nor would it still be around for us to study today. The question was this:
"Where have you been?" Job 1:7
According to scripture, Satan answered,
"I've been hunting... "
The King James verbiage uses the phrase "going to and fro... " as in pacing. The bible says Satan had come from prowling the Earth and "walking around" in it (which is an interesting study in and of itself). This action is the same behavior which Peter described; the activity of a lion looking for prey.
I want to focus for a moment on Satan's answer to God. The thing is, Satan had lied to mankind prior to this conversation. The devil had asked Adam and Eve a question, then he lied about the answer to his own question in an attempt to confuse them (Genesis 3:3). However, now he was being questioned by God and for once, the father of lies had to tell the truth. In my opinion, Satan was being forced to speak information which he'd preferred have never been recorded about him; as it gives us insight into his evil behavior. Because of this conversation, we know that the devil is "seeking".
Seeking is a verb; an action. Seeking means to go in search of something or someone. It means going on a quest; but in the case of the devil, there is evil intent directed towards what is found so the most appropriate verb is, as I said earlier, "hunting".
Satan is hunting for a victim. He's looking for someone to make his prey. In other words, Satan looks over thousands and even millions of people on Earth to find someone who would have woken in the morning with no intention of falling victim to the enemy of God; but if Satan has his way, that person will be devoured on that day.
The interesting thing this conversation revealed is not Satan's evil intentions to make someone his prey; it's the mere fact that Satan has to "seek". This passage tells us the devil must search for someone to devour; which means he can't devour just anyone.
You see, if Satan could devour anyone, his answer to God would have been different. If there were no limit to Satan's devouring, then when God asked "Where have you been... " Satan would not have said "I'm hunting... "; he would have responded "I'm devouring people". But he didn't say that, and he could not lie to the God who made him. Satan's use of a verb to answer the Almighty God's question was an admission that in his pursuit to devour, he must first investigate. He's got to actively search for a victim; he's got to probe and then probe again to find the person whom he "can" devour. He's looking for someone that is vulnerable to him.
This also means Satan cannot devour everyone he finds; only certain people. Meaning, in Satan's looking and investigating, there is something particular he is looking for. He has a criteria, a "checklist" so to speak. When Satan examines a person, something about that person will determine whether Satan "can" or whether he "cannot" devour.
So, knowing that Satan is a "seeker", the important thing for us to know is what he's seeking. In order to avoid being devoured, we've got to have a clear understanding of what makes a person vulnerable to him. Satan is hunting, but what is he hunting for? Once we understand his criteria, we can make certain we do not carry the traits he is in search of.
Here is where I believe the criteria for what Satan measures is found. In the book of James the 4th chapter, you'll find this profound statement,
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you... " James 4:7
Fleeing is another verb; another action. By definition, it literally means to run away quickly as from danger or a pursuer. In my understanding, fleeing is nearly the opposite of seeking. In seeking, you move towards what you search for; in fleeing you move urgently away fearing it may pursue you! James tells us if we resist the devil, he will move urgently away from us as if we were pursuing him. Which means individuals who resist Satan will cause him to do the opposite of what his intentions were when he approached. But the individuals who do not resist, Satan "can" devour.
So, according to scripture, Satan is stalking; going"to and fro" looking for someone who does not resist him; but those who resist him, he flees from. We believe this was true on the day Satan talked to God about it, and this is still true today. Satan is looking today for someone who does not know how to resist him; that's the one who he "can" devour.
Here's something else to point out in the conversation recorded in the book of Job. God asked Satan a second question which is just as significant as the first. God asked,
"Have you considered my servant Job?" Job 1:8
Here's the thing to take notice in Satan's response to the second question,
"... You have put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has... You have blessed the work of his hands... his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land... " Job 1:10
In response to the second question, Satan listed the reasons why he felt he had not been able to devour Job. The interesting thing is that, since Satan had this list on Job and knew all these details about Job's life, it meant that the answer to God's second question was,
"YES!"
YES, he had considered God's servant Job. YES, he had investigated him. YES, he had searched him. YES, he probed him. But he found that Job was not vulnerable.
Job was someone Satan knew for a fact he could not devour because Job had already made the decision to RESIST. And, according to what's written in the book of James, Satan would have had to fearfully run from Job; not the other way around. This is not an assumption; it specifically says this about Job in the first verse of the first chapter of the book,
"... This man (Job) was blameless and upright; he feared God and SHUNNED Evil... He was the greatest man of all the people of the east... " Job 1:1
"Shun" is yet another verb. This means to keep away from or to take great pains to avoid. This verb denotes choice. Job could have easily given in and become vulnerable to the devil (as his children were according to Job 1:4), but he chose not to. God considered Job "blameless and upright"; not because he never made a mistake (later in the book, Job's response to suffering is far from perfect), but because of the way he "shunned" evil. And for the same reason, Satan initially "shunned" Job.
The ability to resist the devil is in us all. Better proficiency at "shunning evil" is developed over time. But the total lack of resistance to evil is what makes one vulnerable. The bible calls evil "godlessness", "wickedness", "futile" and "foolish",
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness... their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened... " Romans 1:19 - 21.
Those are precisely the qualities Satan is looking for; the godless; the wicked; those whose lives have become futile and whose foolish hearts are darkened. Every Earthly day, Satan is hunting individuals who have not chosen to "shun" him. His quest is to separate those souls from the God of Creation PERMANENTLY. But he's fleeing with all of his might from believers who have clearly developed their God-given ability to RESIST.
So now, my question is to you...
Knowing that Satan can only devour those who do not resist, tell me honestly... are you vulnerable? Are you someone Satan can easily devour and has often done so in the past? Does Satan "stalk" you; knock you around, disrupt your life, and your family's life, and all your friend's lives... and no matter how you run from him, you can't get away? Or do you make him sorry he engaged you in a tussle by resisting him so defiantly that he and all his demons end up having to cowardly flee from you as if YOU were a roaring lion?
Nobody is perfect, but my question to you is simply, have you made the decision to hold-out? Have you made the decision to abstain? Have you made the decision to RESIST? If you haven't, when will you? If there are cigarettes in your car right now, when are you going start to resist? If there's a condom in your wallet or purse, when are you going to start to resist? If you are involved in something dishonest or illegal, when are you going to start to resist?
If you know you've got some vulnerabilities (especially if you've got quite a few vulnerabilities), then start resisting today! Be sober so you can withstand! And when Satan makes his next approach to offset your life and devour your family and friends with violence, sex, money, drugs, adultery, prostitution, or any other type of evil...
RESIST... OR BE DEVOURED!
