23 Feb The Lion of Judah: Your Defender

The Lord is their strength,

And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

Save Your people,

And bless Your inheritance;

Shepherd them also,

And bear them up forever.

Psalm 28:8-9 (NKJV)

I faced a situation recently that felt like adversity. Strong anger and indignation swirled in my heart as I thought over and over about the injustice that was being perpetrated over my life. It was a seemingly minor action that triggered something very deep in my heart. It was a small interaction that was spreading like a yeast culture into all of my thoughts and distracting me from important work and prayers. 

I did not like the way that anger wanted to consume me. I sat quietly with my eyes closed and tried to calm down. In my imagination I pictured this negative situation like a plate of bad rotten food in front of me while I was feasting at the table of the King. I pulled a face in disgust and pushed the plate towards the King at the head of the table.

(Can you believe that this is our God? He wants us to cast all our cares on Him – the good, the bad and the downright ugly!)

The picture in my mind changed. I saw myself face to face with an enemy. I had no weapon and nothing to defend myself with but every desire to fight. The Lion of Judah was with me. Although I wanted to fight my enemy myself, I stepped back and allowed the Lion to come into my place. He roared a loud, intimidating, fierce roar and the enemy ran away in fear. The Lion turned towards me and gently, tenderly nudged me with love. We were in a green pasture and we lay down in the grass side by side.

Dear reader, for the rest of the day when I wanted to percolate in my anger, I thought over and over of the moment when I chose in that scene to step back and let the Lion fight for me. And every time I did, my desire to fight dissipated.

He is our defender. He is asking us to choose, again and again, to let Him fight our battles. He is great and fierce and mighty in battle. He is the true King and a mighty conqueror. He loves His people with a deep and furious love. He has and will defend us from lasting harm from our enemies. He wants us to take us to pastures of rest and fellowship in His presence.

The Lord is their strength,

And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

Save Your people,

And bless Your inheritance;

Shepherd them also,

And bear them up forever.

Psalm 28:8-9 (NKJV)

Kate Walsh

Kate is the current owner and editor of Cup of Faith. She is a blogger who loves Jesus, loves to read, and currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband.