March 10, 2008Last night I had another lion dream with a interesting twist that I felt worth writing about, especially in light of my surmises on the subject last year. In my dream last night...( a dream that had at first a 'Jumanji' type quality to it. Me & several others were trying to eliminate odd monkeys & mosquitoes with success, I might add) But when the lion showed up and was after me (as in so many dreams before) I immediately panicked. Partially because I knew of no way to eliminate the lion like we had been doing with the other odd creatures but also because there was no place to hide or escape this lion. The structure on which we were existing in this dream was totally open. It was a maze of stairs & ledges but with no interiors or rooms that were secluded in any way from the outdoors. All levels & areas were open leaving no places of safety from the danger of a man eating lion! But after my initial panic & attempt to run away..I remembered some things that we talked about in our Tuesday night Bible study--that fear gives the enemy power and demonstrates a lack of faith. At this point in my dream, I stopped and turned to the lion and told him that he had no power over me in the name of Jesus. Then I kept repeating Jesus' name over & over. I'd say, "Jesus the Mashiah" or "Jesus the Messiah" or "Jesus Christ my Savior" over & over. I believe the lion actually talked to me at this point although I don't actually remember but I do know that whether the lion actually spoke or not I distinctly recall the lion threatening me & indicating that he was still going to come after me. I then kept moving but I wasn't really scared. The lion was now quite focused on me & was pretty much ignoring everyone else who was there and at one point I realized that I had put myself in a corner where I would be more vulnerable to a lion attack & I could see the lion above me coming to where I was and I thought, "Why am I even bothering to run? Cause he can't hurt me." So I stopped & the lion jumped down in front of me & I started again repeating the name of Jesus over & over. Nothing happened to the lion and he continued to threaten me but he never got me even though he was right there.
In the past few years, there is a recurring theme in many of my nightmares...a lion. And more specifically...a lion who is trying to get me. I wondered at this...lions had never really been a problem in my thoughts as a child or a teenager but the last several years they seem to haunt my dreams...they are always loose and hungry for me and my family. Last year I had several lion dreams within a short period of time and one day while discussing this and some spiritual difficulties I was having my father reminded me of the verse in 1 Peter which reads, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Ah-ha...could there be some connection between the lions in my nightmares and my spiritual struggles? Could the lions in my dreams somehow represent my adversary, the devil? It was an intriguing thought but the validity of it was quite suspect. The thought was set aside...that is, until today.
I have gone quite some time without the presence of a single lion crossing my late-night apparitions. But this past evening...there he was. A large male lion jumping the fence of his cage at the zoo to come after me. I ran, I dodged, I hid...I spent much of the dream seeking zoo authority to rescue me from the lion's freedom and to see that they amended his insufficient cage. It interests me to observe that this "lion" saw fit to burst in upon my dreams last night after I admittedly entered into a spiritual cocoon in which I am struggling with my H. Father over how I perceive myself and my usefulness to Him.
Is it merely a coincidence that my lion dream coincided exactly with the start of my spiritual struggle? Or has this lion seen that I am in a vulnerable position and come to try to "seek whom he may devour", even if just symbolically?
I feel as though, this dream was a spiritual breakthrough for me, in some way, but I still haven't yet fully realized what all to take from it. It seems appropriate though that so many of my spiritual battles happen in my dreams because so much of my spiritual struggles & lessons are happening just below the surface where it seems I don't have full access to them. This has bothered me but perhaps this is the best way for God to reach me without my trying to exert control. Anyway...the lion is apparently losing his stronghold in my life. Whatever/whoever the lion happens to represent.
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