Run Toward The Roar

  We all know that the Lion is king of the jungle. Every creature that graces the jungle floor must surrender to the power of the lion. Every bird that thinks of flying through the jungle must get runway clearance from the lion. Yet, as the Lion rules the jungle he has his detractors. Imagine that, animals like humans, have their detractors. Each and every day the lion wakes up he must defend his right to rule. As he grows older more and more attack the throne of the lion. Even his closest relatives, the young and vivacious lion cubs begin an attempt to overthrow the Lion. The entire jungle is against the lion, yet he is able to hold onto his reign of the jungle. How? He continues to roar. As he gets older and older, as his mange begins to tatter and become worn, the lion roars and his attackers retreat. As he continues to rule through his old age, the very teeth that once killed the gazelle are now gone. With his mange gone, his ability to run and stalk behind him and his teeth on the floor of the very jungle he rules, the lion has only one form of protection left, his roar. As the younger lions prepare to attack, he roars and they retreat. As the gazelle near, he roars and they retreat. You see, what the lion cubs, gazelle and other animals don’t realize is that the Lion has lost everything he once used to rule the jungle. His great mange gone, his swift speed gone, his teeth gone, all that’s left is the roar.
 Often times when we’re facing trials all we can hear is the roar. We make initial attempts to combat the problem but we fail because once we hear the roar, we turn away. Like the young lion cubs and gazelle we don’t realize that the trials we’re facing have lost their ability to destroy and rule. The teeth of trials we face are lying at our feet. Though the roar of what we’re facing may become louder and louder, we can be encouraged to run toward the roar knowing that its ability to attack, destroy and conquer us is a thing of the past. For Christians, we must accept even more encouragement in the fact that over 2,000 years ago, Christ ripped the teeth from our trials and tribulations. Folks the teeth of your trials are beneath the very feet that will take you to overcoming your trials. Though the roar may become overbearing, run toward the roar! And, when you do…you’ll find a toothless warrior that you can easily overcome.

 The next time you’re faced with trials and tribulation begin to tap a foot knowing that you’re driving the teeth of the situation into the ground.

  Run toward the roar!

  I heard about a man who spoke on fear years ago. He spoke of a savannah setting in Africa where the ousted head of a pride could no longer defend his harem. Rather than drive him off, some prides will actually use the old lion for their advantage. The old lion is neither quick nor lethal, since his teeth have begun to rot and decay. He no longer has the bite he once possessed. However, his roar is still impressive. When hunting, the lionesses will strategically hide in the tall savannah grass close to a watering hole during the hot mid-day sun. When evening comes, the herds of antelope and wildebeest will come close to water, not suspecting the hidden danger. The old lion will appear on the opposite side of the pride lying in wait. The old lion will appear suddenly and with great force let out a terrific roar. The startled animals will react and run from the roar, into the trap laid by the pride. If only they had run toward the roar — actually run toward the thing that seemed most fearful rather than into the snare that awaited them.

  When antelopes hear the sound of a lion’s roar their instinct tells them to run in the opposite direction. Doing so, however, means they run to almost certain death because lions expect their prey to do just that. The male of the pride anticipates where the antelope will run while the lionesses lie in ambush opposite the male. When the lion roars, a startled antelope runs directly into the jaws of the waiting lionesses.

  This old teaching story comes from the great African savannahs where life pours forth in the form of teeming, feeding herds. As the herds eat their way across the plains, lions wait in the tall grass nearby, anticipating the chance to prey upon the grazing animals. In preparation, they send the oldest and weakest members of the pride away from the rest of the hunting pack. Having lost much of their strength and most of their teeth, the roar of the old ones is far greater than their ability to bite.

  The old lions go off and settle in the grass directly across from where the strong and hungry lions wait and watch. As the herd enters the area between the hunting pack and the old lions, the old ones roar mightily. At the sound of the roaring, most of the herd panics. Blinded by fear, they turn and flee from the seeming source of danger. As they rush wildly in the opposite direction, they run right to where the strongest lions wait in the tall grass for dinner to arrive.

  As an old African proverb advises: When death or danger finds you, let it find you alive!

  I once heard about an old African folk tale entitled “Running into the Roar.” Its intent was to teach that our survival instincts can sometimes be lethal. The fable has value for us now.

  According to the story, a herd of gazelles was feeding lazily on the grasses of the Serengeti, when a pride of hungry lions caught wind of them.

  Gazelles, as you may know, have little trouble out running even the fastest of lions. So to eat, lions, the pinnacle of hunting prowess, must outsmart their prey. In this story, they do.

  Setting the table for dinner, the lions walked stealthily toward the gazelles, but stopped well short, downwind of the herd, at which time an feeble, old male lion broke silently from the others and snuck around to the far side of the antelopes, positioning himself in the tall grass where he could not be seen.

  Once the frail lion – which posed no real threat to the speedy gazelles — was in place, other members of the pride jumped to their feet and rushed at full speed toward to herd of antelopes.

  Instinctively, the startled antelopes sensed danger and, with lightening reactions, fled directly away from the approaching predators. Safety, they knew, awaited them that way.

  Of course, in this instance, that way was the way toward the old lion staged cleverly in the tall grasses.

  As the herd approached him, the frail old lion stood up, gathered all of his strength, and roared with all the meanness he could muster.

  Egad! thought the gazelles. Hold everything! We’re going the wrong way! Let’s turn around and get out of here! It’s dangerous going this direction.

 The antelopes quickly made a u-turn and ran straight for the powerful jaws of the approaching pride.

  My point in this story is this....

  The Word tells us that satan roams the earth like a lion seeking whom he may devour BUT he is a toothless lion...a harmless foe. He can’t bite you! Jesus pulled his teeth on Calvary and his roar is much more powerful than his bite. Run toward the roar with the power given to you by the blood of Jesus and the authority of His name. Run toward the roar and that old toothless lion will tremble and cower at your feet like the defeated coward he is.

 In His love,

Elizabeth