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Remember my story in my last Devotion about the baby bunny in our backyard and how much she enjoyed the fresh peach we fed her? I invited you to pray with me that we’d delight in Jesus like she delighted in the peach.

So many of you thanked me for this story. Now, let me share with you part two... We had a scare the other day when a hawk swooped down on our bunny! Fortunately, our bunny got away and the hawk was only able to get hold of two claws of fur.

Now our precious bunny has two long scars on her back and an important life lesson in her memory! As you can imagine, she’s more vigilant of enemy hawks now! When a hawk is nearby she quickly scampers away into the bushes where she can hide in her safe refuge.

We too face dangers in life. The Apostle Peter teaches us to:

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NASB).

Maybe you read Peter’s warning or think about being the little bunny and you feel scared or worried. Indeed, Satan is eager to attack you with lies and condemnations, to seduce you into sin or someone else to sin against you. But fearfulness is not the lesson you want to learn. The morale of the story is to be sober and alert – for God!

What does it mean to be sober for God? It means to be wide-awake and fully present to God, ourselves, and others. To be sober is to think alertly about things and to be ready to act responsibly and wisely.

The importance of living soberly is taught throughout the Bible. It’s an injunction for all of us, not just those of us who are prone to drink too much. There are many ways that we can be lulled into mental lethargy, emotional numbness, and spiritual deadness – and the unwise actions that follow. We can “veg out” in television or get lost in cyberspace. We may “pass the time” with amusements, get sucked into taking responsibility for other people’s problems, overeat, or simply deny our feelings.

For most of us it takes a dangerous encounter with a hawk to get us to wake up to our need to rely continually on God as our refuge. Forty-three times the Psalmist prays to the Lord as his refuge and many more times this idea is expressed in references like being in the shadow of the Lord’s wings. In fact, we could say that the theme of the entire book of Psalms is to show us how in the midst of any situation – dangers, trials, blessings, worship, daily life – we can find refuge in the Lord’s loving presence.

And the best thing about having the Lord as our refuge is that we don’t have to run to the bushes to find him – he’s alive in our hearts! All we need to do is to think of Jesus or imagine his smile or thank him for a blessing or reflect on his words and we’re in touch with our Lord of love!

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Reprinted with permission from SoulShepherding.org

William Gaultiere Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. is a Psychologist specializing in “Christian Soul Care” since 1986. Bill and his wife Kristi (a Marriage and Family Therapist) have a donor supported ministry to pastors and leaders called Soul Shepherding. In counseling, spiritual mentoring, seminars, and retreats Bill and Kristi help people to connect deeply with Christ in ways that facilitate soul transformation. To learn more about their ministry, read articles, or sign up to receive the Soul Shepherding Devotion or Soul Shepherding Moments visit SoulShepherding.org. Send your comments to Bill.