When the Bear Attacks

Read

Psalm 119:10–12 (KJV) — With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

What it is speaking to me:

Usually when I think of the phrase "weaponizing scripture," it is used for one Christian or group of Christians lobbing Scriptures at each other in judgment. Or they are lobbing Scripture at the world. There is a lot of collateral damage, and very little good accomplished.

But for the sake of this devotional, let's redeem the phrase a bit.

I recently saw a viral video of a woman who was walking her little dog in Alberta, Canada when a grizzly bear came out of the woods and started prowling around her, looking for an angle of attack. She was unarmed, didn't have a gun, knife, or even pepper spray. All she could really do was shout and yell. It worked out for her, because the bear decided to give up...but it could have gone a very different direction.

Weapons have a purpose — they are meant to defend us from enemies. In this case, sin and the devil. Scripture used against our brothers and sisters accomplishes little, but Scripture weaponized against sin and the devil can do great good.

Peter describes the devil as a prowling lion. Facing down a temptation without a Scripture ready to defend yourself is like facing down a lion (or bear!) with an empty gun...not that helpful. But having some Bible verses memorized means your proverbial gun is loaded. You are not defenseless against the devil's temptations.

Think about how Jesus used it. Every time the devil came at Him in the wilderness, Jesus didn't debate him, didn't reason with him, didn't try to out-argue him. He quoted Scripture. Directly. Precisely. Like someone who had it ready because He knew the attack was coming. His gun was loaded.

He was ready with the Word. Are we?

What is it saying to you?

What triggers do you have?What temptations?Do you have a verse or two for those situations that you can repeat back to yourself?

What are we going to do about it?

Identify a common temptation and pre-select a Scripture to memorize and quote to yourself when and if that temptation occurs.