Watch Your Back

Posted by Christian St John in Faithblogs | 0 comments

Today I was reading a newspaper report about a man in England who was brutally assaulted by three other men. The man who was attacked was a martial arts expert, and yet when attacked from behind he didn’t stand much of a chance.

One thing I’ve noticed during my time as a Christ-follower is that our old enemy, the devil, likes to attack from behind. It seems that everything is going well, when suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere – BAM! – he strikes.

The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for whom he can devour, 1 Peter 5:8. This gives us the idea that like a lion, the devils attack is one of stalk and ambush, requiring tremendous stealth, strength, keen sight and hearing, speed, and cover. During an attack, a female lion positions its body close to the ground and moves silently toward it’s intended prey. The attack ends in a short burst of speed that allows the lion to grasp the prey and make the kill. And many times a lion will attack it’s prey from behind, so as not to raise an alarm.

It makes me wonder that if a martial arts expert cannot defend himself from three attackers who come at him from behind, what chance have any of us got against the devil? Let’s face it, he’s had many thousands of years to perfect his attack strategies, so we could call him somewhat of an expert in this field.

If we go back to the example of a lion stalking it’s prey – a lion will usually seek out the weakest member of any target group and single it out. And the same is true of the devil. Notice that when the devil came to tempt Jesus in the desert, Jesus was at his weakest point. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said…” Matthew 4:1-3a (emphasis mine). The devil didn’t come to tempt Jesus at the beginning of his journey into the desert, he came when Jesus was no doubt ravenously hungry… heck, I’m ravenously hungry after a couple of hours, let alone forty days!

However, the one thing that the devil did not expect was for Jesus to fight back as he did. Read Matthew 4 for yourself and you will see one of the finest examples of spiritual warfare ever recorded. First the devil attacks Jesus by appealing to his physical need. When that doesn’t work he attacks Jesus by asking him to prove his faith in the Father. And finally the devil appeals to Jesus by offering him power.

The devil tried to sneak up on a weakened Jesus and attack him – notice how subtle his attacks are. And yet Jesus found strength, no doubt from the Holy Spirit, to stand up against him and win this battle.

As I go through life I know that as a believer in Jesus Christ I am fair game for the devil. And I am under no illusion that I am impervious his attacks. However, the more I walk with Jesus the more I realize that although I can never fight him in my own power I know One who can fight him, and win, for me. The same One who fought him in the desert and won; who fought the religious establishments set up by him and won; who took our place upon an old rugged cross to once and for all conquer his enemy the devil.

“Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war,” declares the old hymn. Any soldier will tell you that they are only as safe as their fellow soldiers watching his or her back. And I can think of no other “soldier” that I would rather have watching my back than Jesus himself!

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
February, 2009

Picture by Cristina Cascais