Daily Devotions
1 Peter
"Steadfast in the faith"
Text: 1 Peter 5:9
OUR DEFENCE
Would we be able to stand up to our adversary? This question must be answered with confidence!
“Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings
are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
1 Peter 5:9
1. “Resist him”
a) We cannot run away from our adversary.
b) He will chase us and run us to the ground.
c) The answer lies in “resistance”.
i) It means we are to stand up to him.
ii) It further means that we are to stand up against him.
d) This would, of course, require courage and strength.
2. “Steadfast in the faith”
a) The word “steadfast” is closely tied to the word “strength”.
b) The Lord can make us strong enough to stand up and resist the devil.
c) This strength would be found “in the faith”.
i) Our faith has to be built up.
ii) Our faith would be in the Lord.
iii) This faith needs to be nourished well in the word of God.
iv) The strength of the Lord would be given as we build our faith.
d) Strength would enable us to be steadfast in our battle against our adversary.
3. “Knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”
a) One of the ways in which the devil attacked was to cause suffering.
b) He knows that many are afraid of suffering and may fall because of pain.
c) Same sufferings experienced:
i) The suffering that came from persecution.
ii) The suffering that came from loss of property, health and life itself.
d) The brotherhood in the world:
i) We are not alone as believers.
ii) We have a brotherhood that spans the world.
iii) We are not alone even when we suffer for our faith.
When we are not afraid of suffering, the weapon of fear no longer works! This is one way in which we can defend ourselves from the attacks of our adversary!