Have you ever experienced a lion's roar up close and personal?

During a visit to the zoo, we had the good fortune to observe the big cats moving and being vocal. Even though we were separated by the thick observation glass, the lion's roar was frighteningly powerful. I was yards away from a fully grown, magnificent male lion mid roar. Everything about him was intimidating. His sharp teeth were displayed nicely by his huge open mouth; his posture, poised and ready; his roar, resounding.

Through the power of technology, I had a false familiarity with the sound of a lion roaring. Personal experience brought my understanding from black and white to full color. Even in the safety of the observation room, I was paralyzed. The rational part of my brain told me we were safe, but the emotional part of me knew danger was imminent. So, as soon as I could gather myself and my crew, we took some very large steps away from the glass.

A lion's roar is used as a simile often in scripture, and in light of my zoo experience, this one verse no longer made complete sense to me: 

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

The sight and sound of the roar I experienced was enough to make me momentarily question the safety provided by the observation glass and the wisdom of staying put. There is nothing subtle about the roar of a lion. It seems counter-intuitive then that the picture of a prowling lion would be a roaring one, so I decided to examine the vocabulary to see what I was missing.
 
"Be sober-minded" - be watchful, be constantly on the lookout for trouble as a watchman protecting a village.
"Your adversary the devil" - Satan, whose goal is to get back at God by hurting you and preventing you and anyone else from reconciling with Him.
"Prowls" - moving restlessly and stealthy looking for prey.
"like a roaring lion" - fear inducing, paralyzing.
"Devour" - consume destructively.

Reconstructing the verse helped me to grasp it's intensity and message on a new level. We have an urgent need to actively be on the lookout because Satan is undercover, on a covert mission, looking  constantly for ways to paralyze us with fear and prevent us from moving forward into God's plan. He wants us to fix our eyes on our obstacles so we, afraid and doubting, are destructively consumed.

The enemy sneak attacks us with fear.

So what do we do? Even when we recognize the attack, there is still fear and doubt. Emotional responses are not wrong, but allowing them to guide our decisions plays directly into our enemy's schemes. When fear drives our decisions, we focus on escaping that fear which rarely, if ever, leads us to face it.

But what if what God has called us to is just on the other side of that roar? 

What if changing course to avoid that imminent danger is exactly the opposite of what walking in obedience looks like?

What if obedience in following God means stepping towards, not running from the roar.

Honestly, that feels like a tall order, but, by taking emotional thoughts captive, removing our worrisome 'what ifs', we can then be guided by truth. The belt of truth is an important part of God's armor that we are told to put on so "that 'we' may  be  able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:12 

Kind David, as a boy shepherd, tracked down a lion who stole one of his sheep and, by the divine providence of God, destroyed the lion and returned the sheep to the fold. God was with him as he pursued what was lost to the lion and granted him victory.

What has our roaring, devouring enemy stolen from you? What have you lost to fear? It's time to reclaim it. Don't listen to the lies. Don't let fear, in whatever form it has taken hold of your life, win.

God has the power to reclaim, restore and resurrect. If what we have lost is something we need to fulfill the future plans He has for us, then no weapon formed against us will prosper. 

It's time to attack the roar. Admit and face those fears while clinging to God's spoken truths, and leave the battle you are afraid of facing to Him.

Don’t laugh. Odd vision confession time. During worship, I often envision God, in that moment, responding to our praise.

​Sometimes he is smiling, nodding and tapping his hand. Other times, he is swirling his finger and spinning in a circle like an elderly gentleman on a swing dance floor.

Humorous, funny, laughable, but why not true? Okay. That may be a bit of a stretch, but I know that God enjoys our praise. Psalms 147:1 tells us that it is good to sing praises to our God. Also, Luke 19:40 states that if the crowd kept silent, even the stones would cry out.

Wow! God is deserving of and desires our praise to the point that if we fail to praise him, creation will fill the void.

Praise is powerful and positions us directly in God's presence by preparing our hearts and minds for fellowship with him. To see him. To hear him.

On one particular Sunday while our praise team was leading worship, instead of a joyful dance, I saw a different picture. One that brought me to tears. In the middle of a sermon series pointing out that there is often pain endured during our spiritual growing process, I saw my Abba Father.

The song was What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship.

Everytime I hear this song something different ministers to me. On that Sunday it wasn’t just one of the lyrics as it normally is, it was the impact of a song praising the beauty, wonder and power of God’s love as it so meaningfully conveys God’s plan for our salvation.

In that moment, I saw God. He was reaching out as a father would with arms stretched to the limit, as if prepared to catch a small child standing on some stairs, poised to jump into his father’s arms.

Have you witnessed it? The child, crouched down, excited and unsure. He wants to take the jump, to leave what is safe and land where he is safest, but the space between is frightening.

Will he make it? What if he misjudged the distance? There is always that small fear that his father might not catch him and he will fall.

The security of his daddy’s arms, outstretched, reaching, longing to embrace his child is just a jump away. His daddy is encouraging, patiently building up the boy's confidence to take the leap.

I often feel like that child. Just a leap away from God’s provision, protection, and promises fulfilled. If I jump, then what? If I take that step of obedience, am I sure God will catch me? What if I misjudged the distance and run out of strength, money, time, resources?

Where I am is pretty safe, maybe I’ll just sit down. Am I really supposed to jump?

Sometimes, where we find ourselves is secure and it makes jumping even harder. But other times, even where we sit is uncertain.

What if the difficulties in our life are blessings in disguise? What if, at times, we experience challenges to give us added incentive to jump?

Imagine a nothing left to lose scenario, like in a video game where the surface you are standing on is disappearing and ready or not, you have to leap.

We all have or will experience challenges and journeys that require faith in the face of fear. Hope that encourages, inspires, and lends us strength to endurer those next steps we need to take while following God’s will.

The little boy finally jumps. He conquerors the uncertainty and butterflies in his stomach and leaps!

Then comes the split second in the air.

That moment of doubt. Did he jump high enough and far enough for his daddy to catch him? Is his daddy strong enough? Resourced enough to not be knocked over upon reception?

The time in the air is scary. Once he jumps toward his daddy, his fate is out of his hands and solely reliant on his father.

That's how it is with us too. We decide, like the boy, to jump. And now, we're in the air. And it's scary. Doubts arise. Why did I jump?

Why did the boy jump? He trusted his daddy. The boy knew that he wouldn't be dropped because his daddy had never dropped him before. He knew his father loved him too much to miss the catch. Without understanding it, the boy relied on his father's character.

When we need the courage to jump, or find ourselves stuck in the air, we need to remember the character of our Father. He is faithful, trustworthy and true. He is strong enough, resourced enough, and loves enough that his arms will not fail us.

Praise positions us, hope inspires us and faith in God's character gives us the courage to finish the flight.

The little boy is safely snuggled to his father's chest because he was obedient to jump. He didn't sit down on the step or flail in fear in the air.

He trusted.

He jumped.

His daddy's arms upheld their promise.

So will my Father's.

So will your's.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his Covenant of Love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9

“The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast forever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.”
Psalm 111: 7-8


​

If only I could loose 20 pounds. Then I would be happy because of how I look and feel.

If only we had a secure source of income. Then I would not have to feel guilt about indulgences.

​If only my son would take instruction. Then his life would be happier and easier. So would mine.
​
If only I could finish my writing, the laundry, a book! Then I would be happy. Productive!

How many minutes and thoughts have I wasted on the "if only's" of life? Those cunning little lies that promise happiness and fulfillment as a just out of my grasp prize.

They say:
"You can't be content in the here and now. Not until you have accomplished the task. But once it happens, then your life will mean something. Then you can rest. Then you can explore self worth. But ONLY once you have reached the goal. Only at the completion of life's current phase. "

The pressure was on. My daughter was turning 11. She wanted a dragon cake and her expectation was high. In the past, I have enjoyed making/crafting special birthday cakes for my kids. I love doing it, but as more kids were added to the already hectic pace of life, my time management skills became stressed trying to fit it all in. I pinned plenty of awesome dragon cakes hoping that miraculously I would have time to make one, but alas it was the day before and, needless to say, I wasn't ready. I had no plan and worst of all; I had no cake. 

With stress piled high I gave in and went to a big box store bakery and asked them to screen print a dragon that she had drawn onto the cake. It was the best I could do. 

And here came the thoughts. Those flaming arrows sent from Satan to derail me. 

"If I only had a Pinterest worthy cake, then her birthday would be special."  "She will be so disappointed."  "I failed because I broke tradition."

Next up on the local news at 10:  'Mom ruins 11 year old's birthday as dreams of a custom made dragon cake go up in flames.' 

Maybe for you it's not something as trivial as a cake. Maybe it's not having the budget to accommodate organic groceries. Did you miss the work out and now your fitness goals will disappear like dust in the wind? Maybe it's a relationship 'if only'. If only I was smarter, taller, shorter, kinder, an athlete, had pink hair with yellow polk-a-dots (you get the picture) then I would find my soul mate. Then I would feel complete.  

That is how the lies work. They get us to question our worth because they tie our worth to our performance and tell us that happiness is just around the corner but unattainable in the present. 

Those lies got me. Instead of being able to enjoy the time preparing for my daughter's birthday, I worried over it. I was not content, I was anxious. I convinced myself that what I was doing wasn't enough to get to the destination of 'Happy Birthday.' I missed out on the joy of that journey because I thought my destination had to be perfection. 

Do you know something? She LOVED that cake. She was in awe that it was her drawing and had no concern what-so-ever that I did not make it.

I wasted all that time and effort on worry.

Isn't that the way of life? Striving for perfection is paralyzing and breeds discontent. It creates a scenario in which the only way to win at life is to arrive perfectly at a perfectly created destination.

Mother a perfectly behaved child.
Accomplish and keep a perfectly clean home.

The stress that overhangs perfection steals any joy from the process. In-between that baby and the fictional middle schooler who makes all the right choices is a whole lot of childhood. A childhood that will never live up to perfection, because it was not designed to meet our definition of perfect. A childhood that is efficient at creating a messy home.  And, if not careful, a childhood that will be missed out on because focus and expectation were so firmly in the future that the present joy is missed.

It's not only a perfection problem but a perception problem. The perception that joy can only exist at the completion of perfection. The perception that contentment is complacency. 

The Bible tells us of someone who learned how to experience joy in the process. His name was Saul changed to Paul. Throughout the process of his evangelism, God spread the message of the gospel and many were saved. The process, however, was at times very unpleasant. His journey was marked with highs and really low- lows. Regardless of the situation (before, during and after a trial) Paul lets us know that he has learned how to be content. 

A quick Google search defines 'content' as being 'in a state of peaceful happiness." 

This means that even in the midst of our struggles, in the middle of any phase of life, whether it's waiting on a season to change, striving for the promotion or wherever your in-between phase of life finds you, it is possible and even Biblical to adopt a state of happiness and joy. 

It's a matter of perspective, of where our eyes are focused and who we turn to as our source. And, it's absolutely a matter of stopping those whimsical if/then notions that place happiness just out of reach and realizing that even though we may seem stationary, it doesn't mean that we have to be stagnant. 


Philippians 4:11
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always,pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.