1 Peter 5:8

Notice how clearly Peter shows the enemy as the power of evil we have to face. He shows just as clearly that our God and the Lord Jesus care for us. The letter to the Hebrews views us in the light of the sanctuary. Here Peter views us as people also out in the open, under the special pressure of the desert. So he rightly pictures our adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion prowling around, looking for someone to devour.

Being sober is not being gloomy. It is using good sense. And being vigilant means staying watchful. These things matter greatly. The devil is a determined enemy, always on the move and ready to attack anyone off guard. He comes as a roaring lion to frighten people into helpless paralysis. Let us not be caught. What we see here is Satan's devouring character, not his subtlety as a serpent. He was using persecution to frighten souls, and they needed the courage of firm faith to guard themselves against it.

If Satan cannot do anything by persecution, he tries to unsettle souls about the truth in Christ. He is a roaring lion, prowling around and seeking someone to devour; that is persecution. But he is not always a roaring lion. When he comes in as a serpent — that is, when he creeps along and does not roar at all — it is far more dangerous. His violence and rage put a person to the test. It is far more serious when we have to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Soldiers guarding a camp expect an attack at any hour. They do not sit down laughing, joking and amusing themselves. Every sense is on the alert, and they are completely sober, so as to detect the slightest movement of the enemy. As Christians we should be in the same state. Our enemy is more subtle than a human one. We know less about his methods than we would about the methods of an enemy of flesh and blood... The sobriety Scripture calls for does not allow light, frivolous behaviour. But it does allow true joy and rejoicing.

Three times he had denied the Lord. He had not been sober then, and he did not watch and pray. So the devil found him easy prey. He would have devoured and destroyed him, if the Lord had not prayed for him and restored him by His grace.

But because He is caring for you, that does not mean you are to be unwatchful. No, no — remember that your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Here Satan comes as a roaring lion, and so these Hebrew believers were going through persecution. In the second letter he comes as a snake in the grass, introducing moral corruption.

We are to be sober and watchful. Satan is wide awake. He does great damage now by his serpent-like schemes, as then he sought to destroy like a lion roaring over its prey. Resist him, firm in your faith. This means we do not have to attack him or fight him. We only have to resist him. The outcome is as certain as it is quick: "he will flee from you."

In the persecution of the saints the devil moves about as a roaring lion, aiming by it to break down our faith. If faith is only mental — head-knowledge and not heart-trust — it fails, and he devours us.

Despite Satan's malice, God uses him to discipline His saints, as He did with Job. But God lets the evil one go only as far as He pleases... Remember that Satan is already a defeated foe, because he stands exposed. He cannot touch a Christian unless God the Father permits it and controls it. When He does, it is discipline for that Christian's good.