One moment, my delectable food was in my hands, and one blink later, swoosh! It was gone in the claws of the terror from the skies. We were not expecting to see these kinds of kites flying today.

Caitlyn and I had planned on having a lovely picnic lunch at a beach near Kamakura SDA Church last year. There is a large grassy area there, and we prepared some sandwiches and snacks, brought a mat and looked forward to a relaxing afternoon. Once we sat down, pulled out our food and began eating, however, the kites started circling closer. Closer. Closer.

I was halfway finished with my sandwich. I sat next to Caitlyn, both of us facing the ocean, with only a small space between us. The food was delicious, the views magnificent, the breeze wonderful. Caitlyn suddenly felt the small brush of a wing on her cheek closest to me, and I felt an ever-so-small prick on my hands. I looked down. The sandwich that had been in my hands a moment ago was now flying away in the claws of a black kite.

Filled with loose items, the cucumbers and carrots that had been snuggly between slices of bread as I held onto the sandwich, now quickly fell to the ground. Chaos broke out as kite after kite made dive bombs to the ground right in front of our picnic blanket in attempts to grab every dropped nibble. Fortunately, no more black kites tried to snatch food out of our hands while there were carrots and cucumbers to be had.

Caitlyn very quickly hid her sandwich from the black kites while I stared on in dismay. My oh-so-desired sandwich was gone, nevermore to return.

In 1 Peter 5:8, we are reminded that the devil seeks whom he may devour, not as a black kite from the sky, but as a roaring lion. He wants to take not simply your lunch, but your eternal life. Thankfully, we serve the God who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), who can sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15), loves us so much that Christ died for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8), and is greater than the devil who is in the world (1 John 4:4). When we submit to God and resist the devil, the devil flees from us (James 4:7).

Jesus is coming soon. The signs and sounds of His return are all around us. Rather than fretting about the devil’s work, whether that be in natural disasters or politics or something else, I invite you today to look up—not to black kites in the sky, seeking to steal your food—but to Jesus, your Savior, then look out to the bountiful fields of people ready to be harvested for the kingdom of heaven (John 4:35). Through Christ and His Holy Spirit, let us work together to help as many people as we can to get to heaven. Maranatha!

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