Shark Bait

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5:8

Carter plopped his backpack on the table. “Dad, listen to this! Did you know that sharks can hear a fish thrashing in the water from as far as 500 yards away?”

Dad looked up from his computer. “No way! That’s five football fields away. I couldn’t even hear you thrashing in water that far away.”

“Yeah. If you were a fish near that shark, you’d be a goner!” At that thought, Carter opened the cupboard to grab some fish crackers. He paused. “Dad, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, bud. Anything.” Dad closed his laptop. “What’s up?”

“One of the kids on the bus today was showing us pictures he’d found online. They, well…they had things in them that I knew I shouldn’t be looking at.”

“That sounds like an awkward situation,” said Dad. “What did you do?”

“I did what you told me. I bounced my eyes off of the pictures, like I’d bounce a basketball. And I tried to not think about them. But it’s hard not to. And I didn’t even want to look at them, Dad. Well…” His voice grew quiet. “I guess a little part of me did.”

Dad reached over and snatched one of the bright-orange fish crackers. “Hey!” Carter laughed. “Those are totally mine!”

Dad grinned. “Sorry. I guess this conversation is reminding me a bit of your shark fact.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember that verse in the Bible? ‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.’ Satan’s a hunter, like a shark. And sometimes he uses bait—like those pictures—to try to lure us to give in to our sinful desires and do something hurtful and wrong.”

“So what can we do?” Carter asked. “I mean, a fish wouldn’t even see that shark coming.”

“The good news is that Satan has no hold over us because we belong to Jesus,” Dad said. “We don’t have to give in to the things that tempt us because Jesus is stronger than sin and the devil. The Bible also says, ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ That’s the difference between you and a fish. The fish might not stand a chance, but if you swim away, Satan will too.” – Janel Breitenstein

How About You?

What’s one temptation that’s really hard for you to resist? What makes that sin so attractive to you? Like a shark hunting an injured fish, Satan often tempts us in the places we’re weakest. But you don’t have to give in if you belong to Jesus, because He freed you from sin! Trust Him to give you strength to flee Satan’s bait.

Today’s Key Verse:
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Today’s Key Thought:

Flee the devil