Earlier this year, Linda shared a thought from a teaching she and Keith had been discussing. When lions hunt, the male will locate the prey and give a ferocious roar. What the prey does not know is that the lionesses have positioned themselves opposite from the male. It is the lionesses that do the killing. When the prey runs away from what they think is the danger (the male lion) they are, to their detriment, running toward it!
The challenge is to run toward the roar. That goes against everything within us. To run toward the roar?! Right now, there is much that is the “roar”: Covid19, a new presidency and all the changes that are being made, the debates regarding the safety of the vaccine, rioting, social distancing (or not), to wear or not wear a mask, loss of jobs, you name it, it has a “roar.” Add to that the questions regarding the ministry, “How to reach the children with the Gospel?”, “Will the children come to camp?”, “Will camp be fully staffed?”, “How do we reach new areas of the county where we don’t have any ministry?”, and many other concerns. My husband said my thoughts are like ping pong balls bouncing around in my brain. Good description!
I believe as Christians we run toward the roar when we pray and press into our God. Now is not the time to throw our hands in the air and give up. Now is the time to stand. To “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let (our) requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6
In the next verse we hear what God promises to those who run toward the roar in prayer and with thanksgiving: “And the peace of God, which sur-passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
Pray for us to be obedient when courage fails, for boldness to preach the Good News of Christ Jesus, fresh ideas to reach the children, and for a humble heart that relies totally on God.
Running toward the Roar,
Shelley
For a printable copy of this newsletter, click here.
