Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. I Peter 5:6-10

Rebekah fearlessly went after what she wanted. Without a second thought she embarked on a journey to marry a man she never met because she believed God was in it. She dressed her younger son up in animal fur to trick her ailing, blind husband because she was sure that he was the one who should get the blessing. As the other Rebekah spoke of the other day, we sometimes have to go through a rough time to grow in Him.  He allows the bad things to happen to us to help us grow.  In my trial by fire these last few months God has shown Himself faithful in time of trouble.  I tried to fix things myself at first and only ended up making more of a mess. In the end, although my life felt like it was in shatters, He held me up and I learned that when all else fell away from me, I truly was found in Him.  Bury yourself in Him and He will show Himself faithful.  A friend who will never leave you.  A Father who wants only good for you.  A love that will never disappoint.  

Last night a group of us watched Facing the Giants which combines my two loves: Jesus and football. This was not my first time watching the movie and I felt such excitement when my favorite scene began. It was where the coach blindfolded a player and had him do a “deathcrawl” to the endzone on the other side.  In the commentary, the director notes how God will do this with us. If we could see how far we need to go we’d never even start, thinking of defeat even before the first step. But with God as our coach telling us “just 10 ten more steps! Now just 4 more steps! Come on, you can do this! I KNOW you can do this!” we can go the distance and take down any enemy that may come our way.

This being said, I’ve felt a call lately to go hunt some lions.  The devil goes about seeking whom He may devour and I truly believe that someone I cared about has become a victim due to some of their actions lately.  This just makes me want to get out there even more and hunt some lions.  It may not help that person, but I’m sick of the devil having more influence in this world than he’s supposed to.  We think he’s so mighty (and we really shouldn’t recklessly go attack him), but with God providing the armor (Eph 6:11), weapons (II Corinthians 10:4), and attack plan (Ps 37:23), how can we fail?  I’m sick of people walking away from the things of God because their past haunts them too much, I’m sick of people thinking that God could never fully love them, I’m sick of people rejecting God because they think they’d have to give up too much when they’re chained by the world, and I’m sick of people I love not knowing the true God who loves them beyond belief.

And so, this is my battle cry. As Rebekah boldly went about her tasks, I boldly take up my weapons of prayer and fasting and seek to take out some lions.

Dear reader,

I pray that today, if you feel God leading you to take out some lions then do it without holding back. Just remember to always keep things biblical! Vengeance is mine saith the Lord (Romans 12:19), so don’t do it in a spirit of revenge but for those who persecute you- pray for them, for those who declare you to be their enemy- love them, and for those who hit you on the cheek- offer your other cheek.  For God’s ways are not our own and the battle is won through prayer, fasting, praise, and worship- not through actions of our own doing.  I invite you to put on your armor; sharpen your weapons of prayer, fasting, praise, and worship; and hunt some lions with me! 

~Rebekah M.