Getty Up Part IX: Spiritual Laziness Breeds Fear

“The sluggard says,

‘There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!’”
Proverbs 26:13

Let’s look at this spiritually. 1 Peter 5:8 says,

“Be sober-minded; be watchful.

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,

seeking someone to devour.”   

Satan is out there all right, but believers don’t have to fear. Let’s exercise our spiritual riches in Christ and believe the truth of Isaiah 59:19 that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. We know that God is our Shepherd, our Defender, and our Provider. We must be diligent to submit to the Lord and obey James 4:7,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Proverbs 22:13 says,

“The sluggard says,

‘There is a lion outside!

I shall be killed in the streets!’”

While spiritual laziness breeds vain imaginings, the lazy man’s fear is not always unfounded.  Ecclesiastes 10:18 says,

“Through sloth the roof sinks in,

and through indolence the house leaks.”

That’s not where we want to be if there is a lion in the streets. We want to be obeying Ephesians 6 and standing in the armor God has provided. We have the shield of faith, salvation, righteousness, truth, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God) and prayer. Satan looks for a foothold. If we are spiritually lazy, we will not be armored in the way God provides. That will allow leaks for the enemy to make entrance and corrupt. But in the simplicity of abiding in Christ, we will not have to fear.