There was a time when the edges of the known world were filled with monsters. When cartographers of the Roman and medieval worlds reached the limits of their geographic knowledge, they’d sometimes mark the uncharted frontiers with a warning: HIC SVNT LEONES—“Here are lions.” It was not simply artistic flair. It was a sober acknowledgment of danger, mystery, and the very real threat of death for those who dared venture further.
Ancient mapmakers didn’t just draw lions. They sometimes etched phrases like “HIC SVNT DRACONES”—“Here be dragons.” These warnings weren’t based on scientific evidence but on assumed threat. The places no one had been were assumed to be dangerous.
The Bible also uses this language. Satan is described as a lion in 1 Peter 5:8—but also as a dragon, a serpent, and a deceiver (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). Whether lion or dragon, the warning is the same: there are places in your life where spiritual danger prowls just out of sight.
And if you’re not watchful, those places become ambushes.
But today, many Christians walk with reckless confidence into areas of life they haven’t spiritually prepared for: media, relationships, career ambition, digital habits, emotional isolation.
They say, “I’m fine,” even while the enemy is crouching just beyond the border of their awareness.
To walk unarmed and unaware into this culture—without prayer, without Scripture, without accountability—is to step into lion territory wearing a blindfold and hoping for the best.
The Lion You Can’t See
Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
In 1898, two lions terrorized railway workers in Tsavo, Kenya. They didn’t just attack—they hunted. Stalking, waiting, adapting. They learned human behavior. No trap seemed to work. No strategy outmaneuvered them for long. Some accounts claim the Tsavo lions killed 135 men. Modern studies suggest the actual number was lower—but still terrifying. What remains undisputed is their calculated, coordinated, and persistent predation on human beings. They became masters of stalking and strategy—a rare and chilling reflection of what it means to be hunted.
In Queen Elizabeth National Park, a lioness learned to wait outside a village pub until a drunken man stumbled out alone. She struck with deadly efficiency. Another lion learned that a person knocked off their bicycle was easier prey—and so he learned to target cyclists.
These were not mindless animals. They were calculated. Patient. Relentless.
Much like another predator we’re warned about.
Hunted by a Dragon-Lion
Satan doesn’t just distract you. He devours. He studies your habits. He waits for your weakness. Then he strikes—not to injure, but to consume.
The devil isn’t content to make you uncomfortable. He wants to devour your marriage, your mind, your moral boundaries. He doesn’t nibble—he rips. He wants your children. He wants your purity. He wants your hope. He wants your soul.
And he often waits until you’ve let your guard down.
So many Christians are asleep. Coasting. Drifting. Unaware. And that’s when the lion strikes.
Consider how Satan may be attacking our children:
1. Isolate Them
- Tactic: Make them believe they don’t need the church or older Christians. Feed feelings of being misunderstood or judged.
- Scripture: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together…” (Hebrews 10:24–25)
- Counter: Emphasize intentional fellowship and mentoring. Seek intergenerational relationships in the church.
2. Weaken Their Identity in Christ
- Tactic: Use social media, culture, and personal failures to chip away at their sense of worth. Replace “child of God” with labels like “failure,” “fake,” “not enough.”
- Scripture: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
- Counter: Reaffirm identity in Christ regularly through Scripture, community, and spiritual disciplines.
3. Distract with Worldly Success or Pleasure
- Tactic: Make them chase success, approval, experiences, or romantic relationships over the kingdom of God. Keep them too “busy” for God.
- Scripture: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)
- Counter: Help them cultivate a Kingdom-first mindset (Matthew 6:33) and evaluate goals and activities through an eternal lens.
4. Numb Their Conscience
- Tactic: Normalize sin gradually—especially lust, pride, greed, and deceit. Redefine it as freedom or authenticity.
- Scripture: “But encourage one another daily… so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13)
- Counter: Practice confession, accountability, and regular engagement with God’s Word.
5. Undermine the Authority of Scripture
- Tactic: Make them doubt the Bible’s relevance, accuracy, or authority. Introduce popular deconstruction ideas without the balance of solid theology.
- Scripture: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16)
- Counter: Ground them in apologetics and Bible literacy. Encourage them to wrestle with tough questions while staying rooted in Scripture and community—so their search for truth strengthens their faith rather than pulling them away from it.
6. Encourage Secret Sin
- Tactic: Whisper, “No one will know.” Keep sin hidden so shame festers and prayer fades.
- Scripture: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
- Counter: Foster openness and spiritual friendships that walk in the light (1 John 1:7).
7. Promote Shallow Faith
- Tactic: Make Christianity about feelings or aesthetics. Promote a “vibe” over the actual gospel.
- Scripture: “They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
- Counter: Teach doctrine, spiritual discipline, and a theology of suffering and endurance.
Standing Guard on the Edge
Fathers, husbands, church leaders—your calling isn’t to run from the edge. It’s to stand there. Guard it. Patrol it. Hold the line. You are the wall between your children and the lion’s jaws.
The Bible doesn’t tell us to fear the lion. It tells us to resist him:
“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
—1 Peter 5:9
How?
1. Be Sober-Minded
Arrogance is spiritual intoxication. The overconfident believer who says “I’ve got this” is already vulnerable. Peter, who once swore he would never deny Jesus, knew this firsthand.
2. Be Watchful
Keep your eyes open. Evaluate your weak points. Guard your family, your habits, your influences.
3. Stand Firm in Faith
You don’t win against a lion with your own strength. You win with faith—trusting not in your willpower but in God’s Spirit, Word, and people.
4. Remember You Are Not Alone
Peter reminds us: “the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” You are not uniquely targeted. You are not alone. You are not without help.
You’re not alone in the fight. And you’re not unequipped. God has given you armor (Eph. 6), a sword (the Word), and a mission. But you must be awake. Arrogance and apathy are the devil’s favorite blind spots.
Closing Challenge:
When the early cartographers wrote HIC SVNT LEONES on the edges of maps, it was a warning. Today, we need that same warning written on the edges of our hearts and homes.
Where you are spiritually lazy, here be lions.
Where you ignore sin, here be lions.
Where you raise children without vigilance, here be lions.
Let Peter’s warning ring louder than the lion’s roar: “Be watchful.”
Because the danger is real—and the victory belongs to those who stand firm.
By Jeremy Sprouse
Jeremy has been married to Erynn since August 1999. They are blessed with six children: Jaden, Isaiah, Isaac, Ean, Joseph, and Evelyn. Jeremy preaches for the Patrick St. church of Christ in Dublin, TX and is the author of To Train Up a Knight.
Knights of The Father 