Today, most men I know are grinding through the daily roar of modern day 'lions' all around us: threats of bankruptcy, insolvent bank accounts, the scent of foreclosure in every corner of our homes, frustrating and dismissive conversations with creditors and inflation syphoning off any thought of stretching a dollar.
Our breath is labored with a lack of confidence sitting on our chests. We look in the eyes of our family and see weariness creeping onto their backs. The time to encourage ourselves is long past and we, the priests of our homes, must find ways to stay motivated and persistently encouraging. The big question is HOW? When we are drained of even our reserved faith that we thought we had.
The Lord told me this week that we are in the proverbial lions den NOW. Roaring, hungry and aggressive lions. They are loudly stating their case in our internal monologues all-day-long, making it difficult/challenging/impossible to hear what the Lord is saying to us. We work hard just to keep our sanity. Brothas are striving to keep some focus on ministry, but it is becoming vague at best and absent at the very worst. Scripture just does not seem to answer real-life questions about modern problems.
But then I realize that the answer is in the acknowledgment of the place we are in. The lions den is a proving ground or sorts. A place for us to accept that Lord has got our backs. That we must "calm down, shut-up and quit trippin," as one unknown emailer put it.
He noted, Psalm 46:10, where it tells us to, "be still and know that I am God." The master of the universe has our lives under control. James 1:3-4 tells us that patience is the thing that will work a perfect work in us. I don't know about you, but I am sometimes unsure if I command the level of patience I should have to please the Lord. At the end of each day, I am whipped -- my mind, spirit and soul. I talk to more men that share that they find themselves saying, "I don't know" more than ever before. They hate exposing themselves to their wives that way.
My Personal Answer: I put in my mental earplugs, turn up the Word of God in my mind and drown out the lions ... after all, they are only making noise. The Lord did shut them up (Daniel 6:22).
Prosper in your spirit first,
bro. Juan
