4 Scriptures to Know
What does the Bible say about preparing for threats?
Are you struggling with personal or spiritual threats that disrupt your peace and happiness? The Bible offers valuable guidance on how to prepare for and overcome these challenges. In this blog, we explore four key scriptures that can help you navigate the obstacles that come your way.
Through these scriptures, you can learn how to be prepared and stay strong in the face of adversity. So, join us as we delve into the timeless wisdom of the Bible and discover how to overcome the personal and spiritual threats that stand in your way.
Here are four Scriptures to pay attention to:
If we apply these to our lives, we can prepare for the threat that’s inevitable.
The first thing that we see is in first Peter chapter five where Peter says to us, stay alert. Underline that in your mind.
- Stay alert (1 Peter 5:8).
Are you the kind of person who is always aware of what’s going on around you? Do you see something that doesn’t make sense and avoid it? That’s the way I’m wired.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). Satan will always target that area of your life where he knows he can get a foothold. Like a lion, Satan is watching where he can attack.
2. Resist the devil (James 4:7).
Satan is not all powerful. “Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NLT). Satan is not all powerful. 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (ESV). Then James tells us “When you draw close to God, God will draw close to you” (James 4:8 ESV).
The proximity to God makes a difference in how threatened we can be in life. It’s like when you take your kids or grandkids to an area where there’s a potential threat. You take the little kids’ hands and hold on to them because you want them to be safe. And little kids will reach out to take your hands because they feel safer near you.
When the threats come, you have your hand in God’s hand.
3. Cleanse your hands (James 4:8).
Washing your hands is ceremonial. Donna and I have been to Israel three times. Last time we stayed in an Orthodox Jewish hotel. They had cleansing pools throughout the hotel for the ceremonial washing away of sins. In other words, wash away the things in your life that are holding you back.
And then purify your hearts, your soul and your mind through your closeness to God, allowing Him to work in you through the Holy Spirit.
4. Be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10).
“Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:10-13 CEV).
People are not our problem. When it comes to temptation, they may be the instruments of temptation, but our battles to overcome our personal threats are spiritual.
Paul shares this allegory in Ephesians 6 of putting on the armor of God with the people of his day. They see Roman soldiers all around them. The soldiers are dressed in warfare, ready to go into battle.
Paul continues, “Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor. Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:14-17 CEV).
The belt was the most important thing because it held up everything else that was going to go on. The people understood truth was required before the breastplate of righteousness or having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In other words, we have to be ready to share the gospel wherever we go.
Of all these war instruments that Paul talks about, only one is on the offense. All the rest are defensive. They’re all about protecting ourselves. Paul ends by instructing us to then pick up the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God.
We must also be ready with the Word of God.
You attack all those threats in your life by understanding what the Bible says to us. The Bible is clear with these offensive steps that we need to take.
So back to the question that we started with – What is the greatest threat to your peace and happiness today? Only you can answer that. Think about it. You know what it is.
In the first blog, Your Personal Threat Assessment — 3 Things to Do; And 4 Scriptures to Know we looked at how you can take a personal threat assessment. If you missed it, you can read it here.
