On this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, bringing the U.S. into World War II.

We weren’t prepared. It was a sneak attack.

At about eight o’clock in the morning on Sunday, December 7, 1941, approximately 100 ships of the U.S. Navy lay in the harbor at Oahu, Hawaii. Suddenly Japanese planes burst through the clouds and began raining bombs, eventually destroying 188 planes, damaging or destroying 8 battleships, and leaving 2,403 people dead. The United States was thrust into the Second World War.

This terrible attack was a surprise because the United States was not at war with Japan. In fact, just before the attack Japanese officials had been in Washington discussing peace.

Sneak attacks are effective because the opposition isn’t prepared to defend and to fight back. Think of the difference if America had known the Japanese were coming!

Christians are like soldiers, pilots, and sailors. We’re in a war. Satan and his forces want to hurt and defeat us. And Satan specializes in sneak attacks. Today’s verse describes him as a “roaring lion” prowling for victims.

As you know, lions sneak up on their prey and then pounce. Quickly the unsuspecting victim is toast. It’s an accurate picture of how the devil works.

That’s why we need to be ready, to be on our guard. Satan doesn’t announce, “Hey, here I am, coming to get you!” Instead, he quietly tempts us to do wrong. Often he twists God’s words (like he did with Adam and Eve) to get us confused. Sometimes the temptations are big, but often he is content to have us just become bored with our faith.

To be ready, on guard, we need to stay close to God and his Word. And in every temptation we need to rely on God to give us the strength to resist.

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

To Do

Go online or check an encyclopedia and read more about Pearl Harbor and the monument to the men and women who died there.

Also on this day

This is National Cotton Candy Day.

1787—Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1972—Apollo 17 was launched at Cape Canaveral. It was the last U.S. moon mission.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.