Praise the Lord Who did not let them chew us up. We escaped like a bird from the hunter's trap. The trap broke and we escaped! Our help comes from the Lord Who made heaven and earth. (Verses 6-8)
I remember my mother saying, "They need a good chewing out!" Meaning, of course, whoever she was talking about needed to be set straight. But the word chewing seems an interesting choice in light of this psalm. Also back then I often heard, "She chewed me up and spit me out!" This mastication example is brutal, if you think about it. What does chewed food look like, for Pete's sake? And, gross! Spit me out? My ESV Bible says it this way: Blessed be the Lord Who has not given us as prey to their teeth!" What to do when someone just wants to eat us alive.
2006 was a rough year for me. There truly were people who preyed upon me and my business. It felt like they were alternately hunting me down or lying in wait. Within the business, there were troubles. I had my own personal issues to work through. It all came to a head one day when I found myself in my literal prayer closet crying out to the Lord with all I had in me. Vanessa overheard me, as she lived with us at the time. Distressed by my distress, she prayed for me and then left the house to go to work. On her way, she called me. "Mom, the Lord has shown me something. I know it's Him."
"I need to hear what He said." I quieted myself. Got still.
"You are in the lion's den," Vanessa began, "but God said, 'I have shut the mouths of the lions. They will not hurt you.'" Her voice was shaky, like she was nervous or something. "I know that is from God, Mom."
I knew it, too, somehow. It strengthened me. Actually gave me a palpable power to stand up and declare to the enemy that he could not get his teeth into me. From that day forward, I prayed in my prayer closet, donning the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6). "I put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth and the shoes of the gospel of peace," I declared. Then when I took up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, I believed I had them in my hands. "I wield these weapons against you, evil one, in the power of Christ!" No lions were going to eat my purpose, my joy, my life! Not listening to any chewing out from! Not going to be the dinner demons spit up on the sidewalk!
One morning a few days later, my friend, Marlana, called. "I've been praying for you today, Kay." I love it when she does that! "I see you with something in your hand when you pray. Like you're holding something in your fist. What are you doing?"
Hmm. "Fighting," I said. "With all my might. It's the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith."
Marlana got it. And I was blown away that the Lord showed me through her vision of me in prayer, that He saw me there in the closet, in the near darkness of my place of prayer, in an upstairs room of a house in a neighborhood in California in America in the world. Me. Fighting against the one who would devour me. It wasn't about what people were trying to do to my life. It really never is. The enemy has come to lie to, steal from and destroy me. To chew me up and spit me out.
I'm still doing that most days. Drawing the sword from the imaginary hilt and picking up the shield from the solid ground beneath my feet and declaring I won't be dead meat for some roaring lion in need of a meal. I am a daughter of the Most High God, a princess warrior, a beloved bride purchased and redeemed to eternally be with the Bridegroom. I'm fully equipped for every good work, covered in grace, filled with the Spirit, dressed in fine white linen. No weapon formed against me will prosper because that toothless lion has been stripped of all his power and authority at the cross of Christ. And you already know I lived through 2006 with my head held high, delivered from the fowler's snare, the trap broken. I fly free.
But this is war. And though I try to be so diligent, I still get caught sometimes. A little snared by the enemy today, even. I recognize the battle lines, though. The ones I won't cross. Especially delightful to the enemy is self-deprecation, offense, bitterness, judgment. Not going there! Sword drawn, shield in place, I intend to stand my ground and follow my Commander into what's ahead today. The God Who made heaven and earth is my Help, my Defender, my Judge and my Father. Hooah!!
I remember my mother saying, "They need a good chewing out!" Meaning, of course, whoever she was talking about needed to be set straight. But the word chewing seems an interesting choice in light of this psalm. Also back then I often heard, "She chewed me up and spit me out!" This mastication example is brutal, if you think about it. What does chewed food look like, for Pete's sake? And, gross! Spit me out? My ESV Bible says it this way: Blessed be the Lord Who has not given us as prey to their teeth!" What to do when someone just wants to eat us alive.
2006 was a rough year for me. There truly were people who preyed upon me and my business. It felt like they were alternately hunting me down or lying in wait. Within the business, there were troubles. I had my own personal issues to work through. It all came to a head one day when I found myself in my literal prayer closet crying out to the Lord with all I had in me. Vanessa overheard me, as she lived with us at the time. Distressed by my distress, she prayed for me and then left the house to go to work. On her way, she called me. "Mom, the Lord has shown me something. I know it's Him."
"I need to hear what He said." I quieted myself. Got still.
"You are in the lion's den," Vanessa began, "but God said, 'I have shut the mouths of the lions. They will not hurt you.'" Her voice was shaky, like she was nervous or something. "I know that is from God, Mom."
I knew it, too, somehow. It strengthened me. Actually gave me a palpable power to stand up and declare to the enemy that he could not get his teeth into me. From that day forward, I prayed in my prayer closet, donning the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6). "I put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth and the shoes of the gospel of peace," I declared. Then when I took up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, I believed I had them in my hands. "I wield these weapons against you, evil one, in the power of Christ!" No lions were going to eat my purpose, my joy, my life! Not listening to any chewing out from! Not going to be the dinner demons spit up on the sidewalk!
One morning a few days later, my friend, Marlana, called. "I've been praying for you today, Kay." I love it when she does that! "I see you with something in your hand when you pray. Like you're holding something in your fist. What are you doing?"
Hmm. "Fighting," I said. "With all my might. It's the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith."
Marlana got it. And I was blown away that the Lord showed me through her vision of me in prayer, that He saw me there in the closet, in the near darkness of my place of prayer, in an upstairs room of a house in a neighborhood in California in America in the world. Me. Fighting against the one who would devour me. It wasn't about what people were trying to do to my life. It really never is. The enemy has come to lie to, steal from and destroy me. To chew me up and spit me out.
I'm still doing that most days. Drawing the sword from the imaginary hilt and picking up the shield from the solid ground beneath my feet and declaring I won't be dead meat for some roaring lion in need of a meal. I am a daughter of the Most High God, a princess warrior, a beloved bride purchased and redeemed to eternally be with the Bridegroom. I'm fully equipped for every good work, covered in grace, filled with the Spirit, dressed in fine white linen. No weapon formed against me will prosper because that toothless lion has been stripped of all his power and authority at the cross of Christ. And you already know I lived through 2006 with my head held high, delivered from the fowler's snare, the trap broken. I fly free.
But this is war. And though I try to be so diligent, I still get caught sometimes. A little snared by the enemy today, even. I recognize the battle lines, though. The ones I won't cross. Especially delightful to the enemy is self-deprecation, offense, bitterness, judgment. Not going there! Sword drawn, shield in place, I intend to stand my ground and follow my Commander into what's ahead today. The God Who made heaven and earth is my Help, my Defender, my Judge and my Father. Hooah!!
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