The Devil Can Wait

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).


There is a story told of an old Christian slave in the South whose master was an infidel. One day the master went duck-hunting with his slave, and turning on him suddenly said: "How is it, Tom, that the devil never tempts me, and always worries you? Why should he tempt a Christian more than an infidel?"


Before the slave could find an answer, a flock of ducks came within shooting distance, and the master fired into them. He then directed the slave to make haste to secure the wounded birds first, and let those that were dead wait until last. When the slave returned to his mater he had found his answer.


"You see, master, I reckon it is this way about the devil. He thinks I am only a poor wounded soul that he wants to make sure of first, but you are surely his, and so you can wait!"

Perhaps the slave's master thought he was getting a little too personal in his remark, but until a man is truly born again through faith in Christ, the devil can wait to expend any special attention on him. It is the men made alive by the Spirit of God whom he has to hound and harass in order to draw them away from Christ.