Treading on Lions

Posted on Posted in Understanding God Tagged with ,
male and female lion lying together
“You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot” (Psalm 91:13, NKJV).

I don’t know how many times I’ve read Psalm 91 and completely missed the part about treading on lions. I whizzed right to the mental picture of stomping on the head of a serpent (a metaphor for whatever seems “out to get me” at the moment). Gross as it may seem, I find pleasure in imagining the squish of its head underfoot. It wasn’t until today I noticed the lion.

Now, a snake, for all its danger, is smaller than me. It’s low to the ground and in range of my foot. Should I step on it, my full weight is sufficient to kill the bugger. A lion, on the other hand, is a whole different challenge. At five foot two, I couldn’t even get my foot high enough in the air to bring it down on his head. Should I manage to get on top of him, even those annoying extra pounds I’m carrying won’t enable me to crush the cat.

So how do I picture this? Is God telling me He’s going to give me bigger feet or make me into a giant compared to the lion (whatever is threatening to attack me)? Is He saying He’s going to make me a weightier opponent to what I face? Perhaps He’s saying I’ll eventually walk right up the back of my nemesis and use it as a stepping stone on the way to something higher.

What do you think? How would you picture yourself treading on lions? What do you think God is trying to say?

I originally posted this blog on February 27, 2018, but I’d love to hear your take on this.

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2 Comments on “Treading on Lions”

  1. Great post, and great points, Terry! With lions, I picture ferocious beasts submitting to authority. Our mild-mannered dogs had to submit to commands, and I had to learn to give commands consistently! These lions symbolize scary things that freeze me in my tracks. Hard to remember my Jesus-given authority in those situations and command the scary things to submit to Him. Thankfully, we’re not faced with real lions–yikes!

    • Jetta, I like the idea of making the lion submit, bow down. Now I can picture getting him under my feet. What a powerful God we serve who makes sure no scary, growling thing can have its way with us. Thanks for posting your ideas. Now go stand up to your fears!