And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Daniel 6:20-22.
Be sober, be watchful; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (swallow up). 1 Peter 5:8.
We know that whoever is born of God does not continue in sin; but he who has been born of God, God guards him, and the evil one does not touch him. 1 John 5:18.
Today you LORD (יהוה) God says:
The devil roams about watchful for prey, like a roaring lion. 1 Peter 5:8. Resist him and he will flee from you. James 4:7.
Let Me just tell you something about lions and why I say the devil is like a roaring one. When a lion roars it is not out of fulfillment, but rather out of frustration. The lion doesn’t roar after a kill, it roars after a defeat. The lion also roars to frighten, intimidate and paralyze its prey (especially when it gets older and is less agile) when it is actually scared of its prey. Lions are afraid of large mammals like giraffes, hippos and elephants, but they are also afraid of their day-to-day prey. A lion also roars to keep its territory and scare others off it. A lion’s roar is the loudest of all animals and can be heard over 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. If a lion were to roar right beside your ear, you would become deaf. If a lion is stalking you, and these are instructions given by those who study lion behavior in the science community so you can verify this, “then raise your arms above your head and wave them and, most importantly, SHOUT as loudly as you can. If you have something in your hand then throw it at the lion. Stay calm. Hold your ground or back away slowly. Do not approach a lion. Do not run from a lion. Running may stimulate a lion’s instinct to chase. Do not crouch down or bend over.”
When I liken spiritual things to material things it is for a lesson, as My Son did in parables. He talked about sheep, lilies, birds, wildflowers, foxes, camels, sparrows, trees, mountains, dogs, pigs, and other things to show you something about life that applied to your actions. So if I call the devil a roaring lion take a lesson for life application from that too.
So when the devil takes up his tactics and roars at you do not flee (David learned that with Goliath and in many other times he faced evil enemies) and stop your Kingdom assignment and let your seed (the Word) be choked off and not grow to harvest, do not let it make you deaf to what I am saying to you, do not get paralyzed in fear that you will not be healed, or will not be able to finish a project or dream, and when self-condemnation, thoughts of despair, or thoughts of lust, anger, addiction, or a host of other things the devil roars at you or starts stalking you with, just stay calm, hold your ground on My Word, and start the voice of thanksgiving. Did you note the first advice they give you to do to rout out a stalking lion and put him on the run? “Raise your arms above your head and wave them and, most importantly, SHOUT as loudly as you can.” Do you see why I tell you to shout and clap your hands as you rejoice in My presence with songs of praise and thanksgiving? Why I tell you it is good to give thanks and sing praises to My Name and to proclaim My promises? To declare My faithfulness and mercy? To sing loudly, play loud cymbals, and lift your hands in prayer? Yes, I tell you to lift your hands. Psalm 134:2 (“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the LORD!) I even had the priests do a heave and wave offering with the thigh and breast of the peace offering. And one word for praise in Hebrew is “yadah,” which means to lift up your hands in offering thanks to Me.
The devil told Jesus to bow down and worship him and he would give him the worldly glory of all the kingdoms of the earth. Jesus refused to bow. You never crouch or bend over before a stalking lion. You must never be so overtaken by despair, anger, or fear that you crouch down or bow down in grief. It is then the lion will devour you and take over your life, for you have worshipped him.
When Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel’s three friends to bow to the idol or burn in the furnace, they just stepped right into the furnace, but I stepped in with them and the place became like a garden of Eden to them, though not to the others. My Kingdom surrounded them and they were not burnt. They did not even smell like smoke. Daniel 3:19-30.
And Daniel had a similar experience. When he was commanded not to bow and pray to Me but only address his petitions to an earthly king, he did not obey and kept bowing and praying to Me as was his custom three times a day to give thanks. For this, he got cast into a den of hungry lions. But when the king came to check on Daniel in the morning, to his amazement Daniel was quite fine. Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel (messenger) and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Daniel 6: 10-22.
I shut the lion’s mouth so he could not harm Daniel. Are you seeing something? Have you never read “We know that whoever is born of God does not continue in sin; but he who has been born of God, God guards him, and the evil one does not touch him.” 1 John 5:18. There is no snatching out of My hand. Jesus told the Jews, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10:27-30.
There is a way to avoid the traps of the devil. It all has to do with being in Jesus, who is eternal life. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13. “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1 John 5:20-21. Eternal life cancels the deceits of death.
Did you understand that? Eternal life cancels the deceits of death. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.” Romans 6:23. Wages come from working, they are not a gift. I talk about the “works of the flesh,” but I talk about the “fruit of the spirit.” Galatians 5:19-23. Work has toil, fruit is produced by being attached to a vine and comes without toil. Work is from you, fruit is from Me. Work is from flesh, fruit is from grace. What do you have that you have not received from Me? I will tell you: hate (I am love and pour My love in your heart by the gift of the Holy Spirit), anger (I am slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, and man’s anger does not achieve My righteousness), bitterness (I remember your sins and lawless deeds no more, Love does not take offense), fear (I do not give you a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind). That is why you cannot be My follower unless you renounce all YOUR possessions. Hate and anger are ugly things but the sinner hugs them tight. These things are not from Me.
You will reign in life if you receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness through Christ Jesus your Lord. Romans 5:17. Righteousness and eternal life are tied up together. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but I deliver them out of them all! Psalm 34:19. My eyes are towards the righteous. Psalm 34:15.
When you are IN Jesus the evil one cannot touch you. He had no part in Jesus, so if you are in Jesus, he has no part in you. In Jesus I gave you My own righteousness. It is a free gift that you take by faith. Faith in the One who justifies the ungodly.
If you know these things, blessed are you and the devil’s roaring will only make you praise the louder for you know that it means he is frustrated and trying to scare someone into his power and then swallow them up. He swallows them up in gulps and they are like cargoes in his belly. Revelation 18:12-13. He has no teeth, older lions don’t. The devil lost them in a battle where his head got crushed. Genesis 3:15. Selah.
I love you. The righteous are on the Highway of Holiness and no lion can walk there. Why? On it they shout for joy and enter Zion singing. Isaiah 35:8-10.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18.