Because the Sea of Galilee is fresh water, there are no sharks. In fact, it has no dangerous marine life, no barracudas or even jellyfish. With Peter being a commercial fisherman, and had there been sharks in the Sea of Galilee, he might have said, “be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil goes about as a ravenous shark seeking those whom he may devour.” For us today, that might have evoked a more startling image as we seldom hear of actual lion attacks. Either way, his point was that as believers we are constantly under the threat of spiritual attack and should be ever alert. There are both similarities and misconceptions about shark attacks and spiritual attacks.
Hollywood often portrays shark attacks with a fin appearing in the vicinity of an unsuspecting swimmer, circling a few times, and finally attacking with a full frontal assault. In reality surviving victims of shark attacks state that they never saw the shark which almost always attacked from below. They never saw the attack coming.
A surprising number of Christians today give little thought to the possibility of spiritual warfare. Many doubt the existence of a literal devil or demons and if they do exist the image may run the gamut from those portrayed in Hollywood horror movies to the guy in a red suit with a pitchfork at a costume party. The reality is that spiritual warfare is just as real today as when Peter gave his warning 2,000 years ago. He spoke from personal experience and like a shark attack he never saw it coming.
Peter’s attack came when the Lord Jesus was telling the disciples of the events that would lead up to the crucifixion, of His sufferings and death.
Peter interjected: “Never Lord! This will never happen to You!”
to which the Lord replied:
“Get thee behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:22-23, NIV)
The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church that:
“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NIV)
While he is certainly not above a full frontal assault that we see coming, he is more likely to sit down beside us on a park bench, commiserate with our troubles, and offer a seemingly plausible solution which is diametrically opposed to the will of God.
In the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve lived in absolute utopia, with perfect fellowship with God and with each other, Satan’s conversation with Eve was “Did God really say? You won’t die. You will be like God!” Because she didn’t know what God did say, the rest is history.
The good news is that God did not leave us defenseless in this spiritual battle. To the contrary He gave us everything that we need for life and godliness through His Word, the Cross, and in the power of the Holy Spirit that we may be fully equipped for every good work. In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul gives us the whole armor of God that we may stand against the wiles of the devil. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 he gives us the strategy and tactics by which we can win every battle.
Our adversary the devil is a liar and the father of lies. He thrives in darkness. God’s Word is Truth through which we can personally know and abide in our Lord Jesus who is the Light of the World. The battle is real, the ammunition is live, and the casualties are heartbreaking. May we as Christians look to the Word of God for His solutions to our problems. May we hide His Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him. May His Word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. May we continue in His Word as His true disciples. May we be sober and vigilant.
“If you know yourself, and you know your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of a thousand battles. If you know yourself but do not know your enemy for every victory you will suffer a defeat. If you do not know yourself or your enemy you will lose every battle.” Sun Tzu