Know Your Enemy (The Lion)

By Chaplain Bill A. Gaspard

“Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

1 Peter 5:8-9

Think about the nature of a lion for a moment. Did you know that it is the lioness that actually does the attacking of prey? What about the male lion? What is his job? You would think that the “king of the jungle” would be in charge of the attack, but actually he is in charge of immobilizing the prey with fear, and all it takes is one loud roar. I have been told that the loud roar of a lion will echo across the Serengeti, and that the herds of antelope or zebra will hear the roar and either run or freeze in fear. This is the goal of the lion, to fill the prey with intense fear which results in confusion, causing the prey to either freeze, allowing the waiting lionesses to easily attack and devour it, or the prey will run away from the sound of the roar directly towards the waiting lionesses. This was the pride’s plan all along, for the prey to run right into their expertly planned trap. Have you ever felt immobilized by fear? Has Satan ever whispered, or in some cases roared in your ears, lies that are so convincing they keep you frozen in fear or cause you to run as far away from what God may be asking you to do? Have you felt that overwhelming confusion that clouds your mind from making even the simplest of decisions? This is Satan’s plan for your life, to keep you rooted in fear and confusion and immobilized from taking action towards thing that would be pleasing to God. Think back to the herd. What if the herd of gazelle or zebra stood firm as a group and ran toward the roar of the lion, towards the cause of their fear? The male lion is a much slower, less effective foe. The odds that the gazelle or zebra could win and get away from the male lion are good, due to their speed and agility, not to mention the fact that together, as a group, they outnumber the lion. The lion would have no choice but to retreat and try again another day, because there will always be another day. How we choose to face the day, the day that the Lord has given us, is really the big question. Do we stay rooted in our fear or do we run towards it, confident that together with Gods’ love and by surrounding ourselves with the right group (or herd) of people, we can conquer even the toughest fears? How can we run towards our fear when it comes to our recovery?

Let’s take a biblical story and put this concept to work. Goliath was a male lion if there ever was one. He roared towards the Israelite army and they ran back to camp. Goliath says, “Am I a dog; he roared at David, that you come at me.” You know the story, picture Goliath roaring and no one has the faith to run towards the roar, instead they run away in fear. Then young David tells Saul not to fear, that God has got this one and that the giant is as good as dead. “As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reached into his shepherds’ bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead.” 1 Samuel 18:8-9. David is the epitome of standing strong in one’s faith. Don’t you want some of that, to have enough faith to know that you can run towards the ‘giant’ in your life and conquer it with even the smallest of stones? What does Matthew 17:20 tell us about faith, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Go back to 1 Peter 5:9 and remember how Peter says to fight the lion. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. If the gazelle or zebra runs towards the male lion it gets past and gets away, if it runs in the opposite direction it gets caught. David stood firm and had the faith to run out to this giant ‘lion’ of a man. Satan is responsible for the evil that happens to us in all areas of our lives and in our recovery and he will kick you when you are down. This happens when we allow fear to overcome us, the inadequacies we feel about ourselves to take root, instead of allowing God’s truth to take root and develop us to be all that he designed us to be. We are commanded to be careful and stand firm against the enemy. To fight each day our own personal ‘lion’ and win!! We are not alone; there are others in recovery fighting these same battles. Meeting with them and sharing our defeats and our victories with the lions of the world will not only strengthen our herd, but could help another who may feel stranded and immobilized in fear. This is when we, as fellow fighters in faith, can surround and protect those being attacked with encouragement and hope through Gods’ Word. Just like the hope that David’s story gives us.

About the author: Chaplain Bill A. Gaspard is a Certified Christian Life Coach and Biblical Counselor, dedicated to helping God RECOVER His children through relapse prevention coaching. He is the founder of Christian Recovery Coaching- http://christianrecoverycoaching.com/

Recovery Coaching is one of the most effective ways to prevent relapse and get results in your life. A Christian Life Recovery Coach will come along side you to help you find your purpose and passion in life. We partner with our clients to unlock their God given talents and motivate them towards Christian leadership.