Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
“You are only as safe as your weakest link.” I grimaced as I read that quote in an article on how to protect one’s finances and identity. Just this morning we were victims of identity theft for the fifth time! Over the years, my car and purse have been stolen; our credit card number has been used overseas; our account number has been made into a plastic credit card and used across the country; our mail has been stolen from our mailbox; and, once again, our bank account was used in another state. How frustrating. We locked down our identity and finances, taking extreme measures, and still this type of crime and fraud perpetuates.
Our money has been used to buy gas, shoes, fast food, clothing, and pay bills — to name a few. What is our weakest link, we asked? We take as many precautions as possible. Personal information is readily available on the internet; it’s easy to misuse this information if the motive is there. It angers me to be thought of as a target and tool—not a person.
That’s how the enemy sees us — easy targets. Our weakest spiritual links are not as protected as we think, rather they’re tainted with sinful habits; open invitations to Satan who studies our patterns and knows exactly where we’re unguarded. He is devious and calculating, and strikes without notice…his goal, total annihilation.
God provides us warnings to watch. Do we heed them or, in denial, do we think that nothing bad will ever happen to us? Tell that to our neighbors whose garbage was stolen for their personal information.
Put on the armor of God for protection. The enemy is looking for the chink in our armor. Be wholly committed to Christ. Seek God’s will and know His Word. Whether financial or spiritual, watch as well as pray. Let Him protect you so you are not devoured.
Kristi Buttles is a freelance writer and photographer and has been published in the book Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust. She is an elementary school teacher and is involved in several ministries in her home church. She has written fiction, non-fiction, a Bible study, and a children’s book which she also illustrated; all of which she hopes to publish soon. She has also designed her own line of unique greeting cards that combine her love for words with her passion for photography.
Read Kristi’s devotions.