Have you ever felt totally tripped up?? Or have you ever been tripped up by something totally unexpected?? Well that is exactly what happened to me Friday! As I contemplated the scenario, I couldn’t help but think it reminded me big time of a section of scripture and a Biblical concept we often forget about.
Here is what happened. On Fridays I teach a co-op group and have to be gone early in the morning. So sometimes I decide to just walk a mile or two instead of working out at the gym to save time. On goe the work out clothes and tennis shoes. IPod and ear buds ready. Down our long driveway. Towards the end I tripped. Thankfully I did not fall to the ground! But I was deeply troubled by what I saw had tripped me. Stretched across our driveway about 3 inches off the gravel was some kind of grey cable. I followed it with my eyes to around the tree on the right side of the yard. Who would had tried to trip me I wondered. What evil person did this? We live in the country sooooo, I was a bit concerned that we had a very unhappy neighbor or worse yet, one of my children deliberately tried to hurt me. I was disturbed to say the least. I fretted over this all day. I did not return home until 5pm.
I told my husband as soon as he got home. Of course I had already confronted my boys and they both denied having done such a thing. We had obligations that night, so the subject was dropped until the next morning. I was busy in the kitchen when the boys came in with a totally WILD CAT story! They had found the culprit! A four legged, furry, fat, cat! We had been having trouble with cats getting into our trash trailer and so this time one really got strung up.
My youngest son had throw some old weed eater line in the trash trailer some weeks prior, and the trailer was getting rather full. So apparently this cat had gotten stuck, he obviously frequented the dinning hall trailer. But on this night he was about to get caught! Something scared him and he took off out of the trailer. Unfortunately, he had been doing as all cats do playing with the ball of weed line. He had gotten that heavy duty weed line tangled around his foot. He then hopped out and ran across the driveway around the tree twice and then hid in the drain pipe at the edge of the driveway!
Now you could not see the cat. It looked like a perfect set up of a prank. The line was tight and low just for tripping without one seeing where they were walking. But by investigating and following the line they found the twisted cat that had so devilishly tripped me. I couldn’t believe it!
But it reminded me of the fact that satan, our enemy is roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour me! Just like this cat had tried to destroy my day! This cat was just a small version of a roaring lion! Deceptive, unnoticed, secretive, yet totally creative, least expecting……those are words to describe satan the roaring lion and this little roaring lion of a cat!
So be on your guard! satan is out to get you! In any and every way he can! This is serious business! satan is out to destroy you……your day….your week….your year and ultimately he wants to crush your testimony! He is not going to come announcing his presence, he is not going to send you a memo or make an appointment. he doesn’t need to have a conference to ask you where to target his attack….her already knows. He is going for the bulls eye and to get your where you are weakest and least expecting! His last words to me were….have a nice trip, see ya next fall!
So…….keep your eyes open so you won’t get tripped up by a roaring lion----big or small!
Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
