My head was spinning, my heart was pounding, and an inescapable darkness was closing in. Everything was happening so quickly and in a blur. The last I remember I was on solid ground surrounded by light but then I saw a million hurdles. Once I saw them my eyes couldn't stop staring at them. The more I stared the harder and harder it became to move. After a while, I could not even move my fingers. It was not long after that a lion emerged out of the woods nearby.
I saw the lion coming out of my peripheral view but in my main line of sight still lied the hurdles. I knew I had to jump them to escape but I could not- I had stared at them too long. The lion approached and there was nothing I could do. He swallowed me and that is when my head began to spin, my heart began to pound, and the inescapable darkness closed in. All I could see was his belly and that I was trapped. I had been swallowed up.
This is of course a fictional story but it describes a very real spiritual state that I have been in before, you may have experienced too, or are currently experiencing. In all of our lives there is light- God, there are a million hurdles- life's circumstance and challenges, and there is a lion- the devil. The hurdles sometimes catch our eyes and we began to stare at them instead of staring at the light. It is then that life's challenges begin to be undefeatable. It isn't long after that we find ourselves swallowed up by the enemy.
This is why 1 Peter 5:7-8 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” They key to overcoming the hurdles in this life is not to let them cause anxiety. No matter what hurdles lie ahead it is of upmost importance to cast the worry on Christ. When we begin to lose sight of him, we begin to loose our minds, and are rendered incapable of moving even if we see the lion coming. There is a real lion- the devil- who is seeking to swallow us up.
Today, if you have anxiety cast every bit of it on Christ. If you feel like you have already been swallowed up do not worry. Christ came so that you could be rescued from the belly of the lion, and not only that but that you could jump all of the hurdles too and get to him. No matter what you are experiencing today put your hope in Christ. He is the one who saves. There is no reason to get swallowed up.
Author: Danielle O'Neil @danielleoneil.com