Read
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Reflect
During the Gulf War, the United States for the first time used the Patriot missile system in combat against enemy ballistic missiles. The technology had originally been designed for another purpose and had never before been tested against Scuds in battle, but early reports made the Patriots seem remarkably effective.
Then, on February 25, 1991, an Iraqi Scud missile was launched toward an American base in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The Patriot battery defending the area failed to track and intercept it. The missile struck a barracks housing American soldiers, killing 28 and wounding 99 more.
Investigators later discovered that the Patriot system had developed a timing error after operating continuously for more than 100 hours. The longer it ran, the greater the error became until its radar was looking in the wrong place for the incoming missile. The defense everyone depended upon failed at precisely the moment it was needed most.
There is a spiritual warning there for us as well. We can become comfortable because things have gone well for a while. Temptations that once troubled us seem less threatening. Old habits appear defeated. Our relationship with God seems steady. Without realizing it, we can begin trusting yesterday’s victories rather than depending on God today.
Peter warns us not to become careless. “Be sober-minded; be watchful,” he writes, because our adversary is still prowling. The world can slowly reshape our priorities until we begin thinking and acting little differently from those around us. The flesh can convince us that satisfying ourselves matters more than pleasing God. And when we become complacent about the devil, we can forget that there really is a spiritual battle taking place around us.
That does not mean Christians should live frightened lives, constantly looking over our shoulders for Satan. Peter’s warning is not a call to fear but to vigilance. Just a few verses earlier, he tells us to cast our anxieties on God because He cares for us, and then he tells us to resist the devil, firm in our faith. Our security does not come from believing we are strong enough to protect ourselves. It comes from staying close to the One who is.
Enjoy your life. Give thanks for peaceful seasons. Celebrate the victories God has already given you. But never mistake a quiet season for a safe one, or yesterday’s victory for protection today.
Stay close to the Father before the sirens ever sound. Stay alert. Stand firm in the faith. And keep your refuge in the One who never fails.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
