I have been fortunate enough to see lions in the wilderness of Africa. For my husband’s 50th birthday, we flew to Botswana and stayed in three different safari camps. Each one was different (desert, forest, swamp), and in each place, we saw lions up close — from a jeep.
That “from a jeep” part is important. Our guide warned us to keep our arms and legs inside the jeep at all times.
“Just stay in the jeep!”
While we were in the jeep, he said we were safe even though the lions prowled and roared only a few feet away. This surprised me, but he said, to the lions, the jeep was just another big animal on the savanna, an animal that was sometimes noisy but never caused them any trouble. (Nothing was shot on these safaris other than photos.)
In the other hand, if I stepped out of the jeep, or even stretched a limb too far out past its silhouette, the lions would suddenly notice me as a separate animal. A weak and defenseless creature, one that could easily become a delicious meal.
Jesus is my jeep. When I’m out roaming the world, if I stick close to Him, stay obediently within His guidelines, and faithfully listen to His voice, the devil will not be able to harm me. He will see Jesus and ignore me.
However, if I step away from Jesus, the devil takes notice. He licks his lips and starts planning ways to trip me up and take me down. And the farther he can lure me away from Jesus, the more precarious my situation.
Just stay in the jeep.
Dear God,
Thank you for being my jeep and protecting me from the devil, the proud, prowling lion of this world. Thank you for reminding me of his presence and his goals. Thank you also for reminding me of the power I have to resist him because of my faith in you. Please help me to stay alert and keep my hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.
CamDevo 