Appeasing the Lion

Imagery of the wild and untamed world yet again. Too much cheese? Or is God speaking? I know what I think: see what you think.

So last night I had a powerful dream which I actually remembered when I awoke. I was back home in Long Beach, on Josie Avenue, in the bedroom I grew up in at the house my Mom sold a couple of years ago now. I was in ‘my’ bedroom lying down in a double bed. I was sharing the bed with a lion, a male lion with the full mane. While I regarded him with apprehension, he slept peacefully. 

Somehow I knew that Mom was in the house somewhere, and that there were an additional two lions in the house too - lionesses. I wasn’t terrified; I didn’t run away or rush to warn Mom or try to kill the lion(s), but with a measure of anxiety in my heart I headed to the fridge to find something to feed the lion when he awoke. I had a very real fear that otherwise I would be his next meal. 

I retrieved what I thought was a chunk of cheese from the pretty empty fridge, only to discover it was butter. Somehow I thought that he might have been satisfied with a chunk of cheese, but that butter just would not do the trick.

Just back from a walk where I examined the dream with God, sure there are depths in there that need plumbing. For now, what I understand is that although I am in ‘bed’ with God, I’m not trusting that he is happy just to have me near. I feel I need to placate him somehow, to bring him offerings from my ‘store cupboard’, and without such gifts of appeasement I just might come a cropper and be devoured by him. 

Considering my previous two blogs about the real wild enemy who does seek to devour us, I know in my heart that my loving heavenly Father does not want to devour me but keep me safe. I need that knowledge to penetrate to my very being so that my thoughts and actions reflect that truth.

It occurs to me that it’s incredible that He has enough confidence in me to ‘sleep’, trusting that I will not betray him, and yet I often lie awake at night trying to work out ways of ‘fixing’ things in my life so that I and my family will conform to his expectations – or hopes – for us...not trusting him to fix things as only he can do.

Come to me, he invites us, everyone who is weary and bearing a heavy burden, and I will give you rest, give you peace, give you a break. My prayer for myself, and for us all, is that I will deepen my trust in Him so that I can lie down and sleep in peace, knowing that He is near, protecting, guarding, and loving me – not for how well I’m ‘fixing’ things but for trusting him to fix them.