LION ATTACK!

Posted on June 10, 2019 by America's Keswick in Victory Call

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8

What a verse to pay attention to, am I right? There is so much wisdom to be gleaned from these words, and to better understand them, I recently watched a YouTube video of a mountain lion trying to hunt a baby bear. It was very difficult to watch, especially for an animal lover like myself. The lion, with his arched back, carefully studied the cub’s every move. When the bear moved, the mountain lion moved. The baby bear would try to hide, but kept looking back and realized he could not escape the lion’s sights. The cub was obviously afraid, but it seemed like no matter where he ran, the lion was only feet away, looking to devour it. The lion ran full speed toward this baby bear, snapping at it; nothing was going to stop him. He was angry, he was hungry, and he had his narrowed eyes fixated on the baby bear. The cub tried to cross a branch over a river, which didn’t quite reach to the other side, and the mountain lion followed it. When the cub had nowhere to go, he fell into the winding river and grabbed a hold of a large branch, so the mountain lion ran to a nearby rock and waited for the baby cub. The current was taking the baby bear right to the mountain lion, so he jumped off the branch and tried to swim away… but the mountain lion met him at the edge of the water. The lion would not. ease. up. He had a goal in mind and he intended to carry it out.

What happened next? Well, I’ll tell the ending of this story in a minute – BUT FIRST, I want to give you the definitions of ‘sober minded’ and ‘watchful.’ They are as follows:

Sober-minded: (adjective) Someone who is serious and sensible

Watchful: (adjective) watching or observing someone or something closely, alert and vigilant

Now if you know me at all, you know that I have an ENFP-T personality type. That means I’m extroverted (94%!!!), intuitive, led by my feelings rather than deep thought, prospecting rather than judging, and turbulent rather than assertive. That being said, being sober-minded and watchful is not exactly a natural tendency of mine.

Even though it’s not a natural tendency of mine to be sober-minded and watchful, I have to be disciplined enough to behave in that way. It may not be a natural tendency for you either, but whether it is or it isn’t, we have to resolve in our minds to be aware of the areas in which we are more susceptible to sin and we need to fight against that using the full armor of God. We need to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. We must fight against the devil’s schemes and stand our ground by using the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We need to use the shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. We must put on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, and the helmet of salvation… and finally, we must pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, both for ourselves and for others (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Now, I know you must be on the edge of your seat wondering how the story ended. Did the bear cub live or die? Well… happy ending, he lived – but it wasn’t because the lion willingly backed off or because the cub was able to outrun or hide from his predator. No, the baby bear was rescued. When the lion reached the cub and began his attack, the mama bear ran up and roared her biggest roar. In response, the lion immediately retracted his claws, cowered down, and ran away. Not only that, but when the baby bear ran up to his mama, she cleaned his wounds for him.

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of our Lord? Though the devil is a prowling lion who doesn’t want to ease up, we having a watchful and loving God! Not only does He save us, but He heals our wounds and continues to love us and care for us. He is such a good God, so let’s be in continuous prayer, be in the Word, and be ready to apply Scripture to our lives

Written by Erin Culleny: Erin Culleny serves as a Marketing Assistant and Staff Writer. She loves encouraging women through her Victory Calls and finds such joy in praying for her sisters in Christ. Her favorite activities include reading her Bible, encouraging others with scripture, buying new makeup, buying dresses, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory… In that order!

The Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 15-17, Matthew 23:1-22| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “”When we are in danger, He is the Protector. When we are in need, He is the Provider. When we are under attack, He is the Defender.” – Crystal McDowell

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. – Galatians 4:4-5

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.

 

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