Lions and Bears – Oh My!

We just got home from another camping trip to the mountains. This was our second trip this summer – the White Mountains of Arizona are beautiful and so relaxing.

However, they are also the natural habitat for many different kinds of wildlife. This trip we saw elk, deer, turkeys, the ever-present chipmunks and squirrels and a couple of skunks (but I’ll tell you about them a bit later).

For several days before we left I was reading systematically through Psalms and Proverbs. I was really impressed with the verses in those two books that promised safety and protection to “those who serve the Lord”. Now, I’m been walking with the Lord long enough to know that when there’s a reoccurring theme to my reading God is trying to tell me something.

“I can lie down and sleep soundly because you, Lord, will keep me safe.” Psalm 4:8 CEV

“You, Lord God, are my protector. Rescue me and keep me safe from all who chase me.” Psalm 7:1 CEV

“But if you listen to me, you will be safe and secure without fear of disaster.” Proverbs 1:33 CEV

“They will help you to live  a long and beautiful life. 23 You will walk safely and never stumble; 24 you will rest without a worry and sleep soundly.” Proverbs 3:22-24 CEV

“Let all who run to you for protection always sing joyful songs. Provide shelter for those who truly love you and let them rejoice.” Psalm 5:11 CEV

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.Then you will say to the Lord, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.” Psalm 91:1-2 CEV

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

“Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories.” Isaiah 41:10 CEV

These verses were planted in my heart before we left for camping and through my daily reading I was reminded of the Father’s faithfulness and protection. I knew the Lord was preparing me for a situation that might cause me to fear or to feel unsafe and so I began praying protection over Dave and I and our camping trip. I also prayed over our oldest daughter, Kim, her husband, Austin and our youngest grandson, Sam, who would be joining us on the weekend.

When we arrived at the campground on Tuesday afternoon we were excited to get camp set and begin enjoying our time in the mountains. The camp host gave us the customary reminder that there are bears in the woods although none had been spotted for quite some time. But then she said something I had not expected…3 male mountains lions had been spotted close to the campground the day before. We needed to be alert when out walking, especially if we had small children or small dogs. We should also keep all our food locked away in our vehicle during the night.

At that instruction I felt fear begin to grip my thoughts. We were in a tent – this was not good news. Now I knew what the Lord had been preparing me for – I needed to trust Him to be my safety.

The first night I slept very little. Most of the night I was quoting the Scriptures above and reminding myself that the Lord was my safety and protection. I heard every sound and my body was on alert. During the day there was no worry or fear – none. The second night I was able to sleep better and found a greater sense of peace and rest.

On Thursday it was even better. Friday I was able to get a text out to a friend and asked her to pray with me over the situation. I know her to be a prayer warrior and knew she would join me. It was that day that the Lord gave me these verses:

“You let us rule everything  your hands have made. And you put all of it under our power—  the sheep and the cattle, and every wild animal,  the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and all ocean creatures. Our Lord and Ruler,  your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!” Psalm 8:6-9 CEV

The Bible isn’t just words on a page to me. The verses above, and all the verses from cover to cover, as God’s promises to me that He is my protection, my safety, my salvation, my healing, my joy, my peace, my wisdom and my strength. Regardless of the circumstances my strength comes from trusting Him and knowing that He will never lie to me – if the Father promises to be my protection then that’s exactly what He will do!

Kim, Austin and Sam arrived on Friday morning. It was Sam’s first camping trip and we had a wonderful time. Nature walks, discovering old dead trees, seeing wild turkeys, fishing, making s’mores and so many other things. We took over 300 pictures in two days to document all the fun.

Friday night I went to bed confident in God’s protection. Sam wanted to sleep in the RV that night so we read stories, had prayer time and everyone was ready for bed. Now, to the skunks. I had forgotten to put Glory’s dog food up and at 10pm Dave and I both heard a noise in the camp. We looked out with our flashlights but couldn’t see anything. Dave softly yelled and whatever it was ran off. Then about 2am we heard something else – this time we were able to see that it was a couple of skunks. They were not going to be run off and we weren’t going to disturb them. It was only when we got up in the morning that we discovered they had found the container of dog food, gotten the lid off and eaten to their hearts contentment.

We knew they would be back on Saturday night for a second helping so Sam slept in the RV again instead of the tent. It was an interesting end to our camping. We also learned that the lions had been chased out of the area – hunting season started and they, the lions, weren’t staying around with all the hunters and their dogs who were arriving.

Fear is real! The purpose of fear is to break our confidence in God’s word. I’ve heard it said that fear is a fact that we have to deal with but that God’s word is truth and truth is greater than facts – truth changes facts. Facts must submit and conform to truth.

Jesus told the disciples who were on a ship about to sink to “fear not”. The truth was Jesus had said that the boat would go to the other side of the lake. Fear saw the waves and felt the wind, the facts, but God’s word, the truth, calmed the waves!

I would love to say that I live “fear free” but I have to deal with it as much as anyone. However, I have learned that God’s word makes me an overcomer in fearful situations when I let the peace of God rule my heart.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

I’m not sure what “lion” is bringing fear into your life – it may be a health issue, finances, relationships, your job, physical danger or some world crisis – but I do know that our command from the Lord is to “fear not” so commit the situation to Him and His peace will guard your heart.

One final word on our camping trip – we were not foolish in our actions; we were alert to our surroundings, we didn’t allow Sam or Glory to run off unattended, we had bear spray and we also had other forms of protection and we covered every circumstance with prayer.

God is ALWAYS faithful and He can ALWAYS be trusted!

“We are still alive because  the Lord’s faithful love never ends. 23 Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal! 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my God, and I trust him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 ERV