The Hunter or the Hunted?

     My rarest raptor sighting event was extremely brief but turned out to be one of the memorable events in my life. I almost ended up as the prey instead of the observer. It happened many years ago, when I was deer hunting in central Texas. I had climbed into a deer stand about ten feet up in an old oak tree, overlooking a large patch of oats. There was not much activity that afternoon, in the deer community. I had gotten bored waiting on the deer and had drifted off to sleep. I awoke after a while and open my eyes, but remained motionless so as not to scare off any deer that might have walked into my area. While scanning the oat patch below for the elusive deer, I caught a small movement in the sky, at the edge of my peripheral vision. I suddenly realized that it was growing larger and moving toward me at great speed! When I shifted my body and lifted my head to get a better look, I realized that it was a hawk that had detected my eye movement and decided to attack, not realizing my size. My movement was just in time for the hawk to abort his dive, passing a mere three to four feet from my head! The hawk passed close enough for me to feel the wind turbulence it generated. I can only imagine what would have happened if it had successfully completed its dive into my face! I’m sure that I would have been knocked out of the tree and possible broke a bone or two in the fall. I could have been the first fatality from a hawk attack! Thankfully the hawk and I both survived, to hunt again.
     Our spiritual life is often characterized as a battle field, good fighting against evil. There are times when we feel as if we are being attacked by the enemy. In Ephesians 6 Paul tells us to “put on the whole armour of God” and states that: “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. Paul further tells us that to fight in this spiritual battle we need to arm ourselves with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. So, make sure that you study the Bible and know how to use these spiritual “weapons”, and when you feel like you are under attack from Satan, just remember Isaiah 49:19: “… when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him”!

Attacked by a Lion

     The majestic lion is the tallest cat of the feline family with a shoulder height reaching four feet. The lion can weigh up to 800 pounds, and can attain speeds of 40mph, for short bursts! They are a formidable foe without fear of any other animal in the jungle. When a lion roars, it strikes fear in the heart of every animal in range of its roar. One doesn’t realize the enormous size of the lion unless you see one up close.

     Several years ago I was standing with a group of people who were observing and photographing a large male lion. He appeared to be quite old and feeble while walking back and forth in front of us. I decided to get down on my knees to get an eye-level photograph of him as he was passing by. The lion may have been old but he was not at all feeble! He instantly reacted as I bent down, lunging at me from fifteen foot away! I didn’t have time for any reaction. The only thing that saved me was the three-inch-thick glass wall between me and the lion. The event took place at the Tokyo Zoo. In spite of the glass wall, this was the most terrifying couple of seconds in my life! Evidently the lion saw me as a wounded or sick prey. He fell back from the glass wall after his foiled "attack" and continued his pacing around his cage, but from then on kept his eyes on me... I guess waiting for me to fall again! I wanted to try to get him to attack again and get someone to film it for me, but decided that I didn't want to test the glass wall against a 600 pound lion again!

    Several lessons can be learned from this exciting event. The attack reminds us that we should always be alert for an attack from Satan and highlights that the spiritual “wall” surrounding us is critical for our survival.

    The Bible talks about the devil walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. My lion attack happened in less than a second, not giving me any time to react. Many of today’s spiritual attacks against a Christian also come quickly and without warning, such as a car wreck or a heart attack. We need to be ready in season or out of season, for whatever life my present us. We need to stay prayed up! We need to store up prayers in Heaven so when the time of strife or emergencies occurs, we can just stand on our past prayers.

    The spiritual “wall” is a very key part of our Christian life. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul admonishes us to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Keeping this wall in proper order is a continual and on-going effort. In the same chapter Paul also encourages us to “pray at all times… be on the alert.” It’s our daily prayers, our fastings, and reading of the Word that helps us keep the “wall” in perfect order and protects us from the lion attacks!