20 February 2024 Lion
I have been reading the book of First Samuel, and a striking passage is found at the very start when Hannah prays her prayer of thanksgiving.
1 Samuel 2:1: And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
Earlier we read that she was one of the two women Elkanah had married – her sister-wife being Peninnah. We find out in chapter 1 that Hannah was barren and Peninnah had given her husband children – yet Elkanah loved Hannah more. His love for Hannah made Peninnah jealous and she was mean to and constantly provoked Hannah – taunting her, embarrassing her… To the point where Hannah would not even eat at Shiloh.
Hannah had an enemy – taunting her, berating her, provoking her, humiliating her.
An enemy that told her at every occasion that she was not good enough.
But God had plans for Hannah – and for all of Israel and the world through her.
You have an enemy today – an enemy that taunts and berates, provokes and humiliates – an enemy that tries to break you down and tell you that you are not good enough.
This might be a person, a situation, a mindset or even a condition of the heart.
But God has a plan for you.
The Psalmist writes in Psalm 68:1-4:
Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
St. Augustine, writing about Jesus, risen and exalted, says the following: “He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion.”
I want to take this a step further. Not only did Jesus endure death – for the Bible teaches us that He knows our weakness, He understands our trials and our tribulations (Hebrews 4) – and in doing so, in putting on flesh and enduring our humanity – He devoured not only death, but also our weakness, our frailty, our poverty, our affliction, our suffering – the Lion roared on the Cross that day saying “IT IS DONE!”.
The Lion roared on the Cross that day and the curtain that separated us from the presence of the Almighty tore. The death warrant the enemy had been holding over your head tore…
The Lion roared on the Cross that day and His enemies were scattered.
There is a lot of meaning in names. We often call Jesus the Lion of Judah.
The name ‘Judah’ is translated as meaning ‘praise’ or ‘praised’ (Genesis 29:31-35).
Jesus is the Lion of our praise. Not only is He worthy of our praise – but He is also the origin of our praise.
He is our praise. He is our power. He is our peace. He is our provision. He is our victory.
When the Lion roars the valleys are raised up and the mountains are made low. When the Lion roars our enemies are scattered.
When the Lion roars we can say like Hannah did – My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
When the Lion roars His people roar with praise.
Prayer: Lord, come and roar in my life today. Let the enemies of self-doubt and insecurity scatter. Let the enemies of pride and arrogance scatter. Let the enemies of fear and depression scatter. (I encourage you to name the thing that is bothering you today) – Lord, let it scatter! Let my enemies be driven away like smoke. Lord, come roar in my life today. I declare that You are my provision. I declare that You are my healing. I declare that You are my restoration. I declare that You are my victory. Come and roar in my life today and I will roar with praise. I will testify, Lord of Your goodness and grace. In Jesus name. Amen!