Be alert and of sober mind. 
Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
- 1 Peter 5:8 NIV

In this Bible verse, the operative word is ‘like’. While it likens the devil to a lion, it doesn’t say the devil is actually a lion. It tells us that the devil walks about as if he were a lion, roaring and looking for prey.

But we know something … 

There is only one Lion. And that is The Lion of Judah.

In the not-so-distant past, I heard a revelation about this verse that has since become my own. The speaker had travelled to South Africa and had gone on safari – as one does. They learnt that in a pride of lions, there can only be one Alpha.

At times, though, there may be juveniles in the pride who wish to challenge the Alpha but do not have the strength or the ability to do so. So, they stand off at a distance and roar loudly. 

However, it’s not a true challenge to the Alpha. It can’t be. The juvenile doesn’t have the authority, the power, the capacity to back it up. The devil is the juvenile lion, wanting to challenge God but unable to. He’s a defeated foe. So, he goes after God’s children instead.

I was sharing this revelation with my mum and saying, “In essence, he’s a toothless lion.” She laughed and said, “He’s a paper lion.” I found that quite amusing and we laughed about it. But the words stayed with me long after that conversation.

What I didn’t know is that they would become a revelation to me and minister to my soul more than I could have imagined then. Because a toothless lion is still a lion. It still has some power. It has claws and brute strength. The mere thought of encountering one can still strike fear. 

A paper lion on the other hand has no power whatsoever. It’s not real. It’s a counterfeit.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 
he made a public spectacle of them, 
triumphing over them by the cross.
- Colossians 2:15 NIV

Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, took away the power of the enemy of our souls completely through the finished work on the cross. On our own, we’re powerless, helpless, defeated. In Christ, we are victorious. That is why He, being God Himself, chose to lay down His life to set us free from the trap that sin placed us in.

We do not have to be afraid, even when things go south. When we face trials and tribulations, we know we have ultimate victory. We have an inheritance in Christ. Love, joy, and peace never depart, irrespective of circumstances. Goodness and mercy pursue relentlessly and overtake. Always!

We do not cower or turn back. Ever. We take a stand! And when everything is said and done, we’re found standing. We have life and life in abundance. In high school, I had a teacher who used to like saying that empty vessels are the most sonorous. The loudest.

The juvenile lion roars so loudly, at a distance, but it knows it has no substance. The Alpha stepped in for once and for all. We could either accept or reject that truth, but there is no undoing it.

Beloved, if you haven’t already, I implore you to accept it. Ask Jesus to show you, to teach you. If you have already accepted this Good News, ask for a deeper revelation and watch and see what the King of kings will do! 

I invite you to pray the prayer at the end.

Love,

Dear Jesus,
Thank you so much that you love me. Thank you for dying for me on the cross. You took away my sin and shame; I have absolutely no guilt now. I ask you to completely take over every aspect of my life. I place myself, my whole heart and my life in your hands. 
Show me what life in abundance looks like. Please give me a deeper revelation of You and Your finished work on the cross for my sake. Teach me Your Truth and Your Ways.
Again, thank you. 
I look forward to all that you have in store for me with anticipation.
Amen and amen 🙏🏾