Are you wondering why, believer? Look up to your heavenly Father and see His purity and holiness. You're meant to be like Him one day. Will it be easy to take on His image?

Won't you need to go through much refining in the furnace of affliction to be purified? Can you easily rid yourself of corruption to be perfect, like your Father in Heaven? Now, Christian, look down. Do you know the foes beneath your feet?

You were once Satan's servant, and no king gives up his subjects willingly. Do you think Satan will leave you alone? No, he is always after you, like a roaring lion, seeking to devour. Expect trouble from below. Then, look around.

Where are you? You're in an enemy's land, a stranger and traveler. The world is not your friend. If it is, you're not God's friend, because anyone who befriends the world opposes God.

You will find enemies everywhere. When you sleep, remember you're resting on the battlefield; when you walk, expect an ambush at every corner. Just as mosquitoes bite strangers more than locals, the trials of earth will be sharpest to you. Lastly, look within your own heart and see what is there.

Sin and self still reside within. Even if you had no devil to tempt, no enemies to fight, and no world to mislead, you'd find enough evil in yourself to trouble you, for "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Expect trouble, but don't despair because of it, for God is with you to help and strengthen. He promises, "I'll be with you in trouble; I'll deliver you and honor you."