The Lion In The Street
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Proverbs 22:13 says, “The lazy man says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!’” One translation says, “The man who is not a self-starter makes excuses.” There is a mentality that can attach itself to you that says, “There are too many obstacles or ‘lions’ in my life for me to be successful.” This mindset can be paralyzing and keep you from doing all that God has planned for you to do. In this passage, there is no lion in the street. The man was just making excuses for why he should not try. We can get into a rut of allowing circumstances in life to keep us immobile and scared to do anything new.
So, how do you combat this way of thinking? You must fill your mind with the promises of God! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down imaginations…” That lion in the street is an imagination. It is a mental stronghold that prevents you from moving forward. For example, you may dream of living a new life for God, but your mind may tell you, “You’ve gone too far. You can’t change. Nobody would believe that you are a Christian.” Or maybe you want to move further in your career, and you may have thoughts that say, “I’m too old to go back to college. No one would hire me now. I’m not smart enough to be in that position. There are better people out there for those types of jobs. This is silly.”
The word “imagination” comes from the word “image.” The “lion in the street” is often a false image of yourself. The enemy feeds you words and thoughts of failure, so you can only see a weak, negative picture of yourself. He wants you to have the image and “realization” that you will never change and nothing good will happen. But that is a lie. There is a battle going on in your mind. If what you believe does not line up with what God says about you, it is a lie, and you need to cast down that imagination. Don’t allow anything to stop your progress to your purpose! Only God knows what you are capable of!
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