Lions, and Tigers, and Bears…OH MY!

Lions, and tigers and bears…oh my!

Lions, and tigers, and bears…Oh My!

LIONS, AND TIGERS, AND BEARS…OH MY!!!

Creeping through the dark forest, Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow hear danger. As the sounds seep deep within their arena of consciousness, they became aware that lions and tigers and bears may be lurking behind a giant oak tree or buried beneath a pile of crispy dead leaves. Just one misstep and one of these monsters could leap out of the dark and devour them alive…OH MY!

Often in life, we walk the same path. We are aware that danger lurks behind any corner ready to pounce on us at any moment. This mysterious danger hides itself from us until we are vulnerable and weak revealing itself only when it feels we are unguarded.

Life is good, until it isn’t. A diagnosis that knocks us off our feet, the attack of mental illness, a friend who quickly becomes an enemy through betrayal and lies. One day we are sitting on our front porch enjoying the peace that surrounds us, and the next day we have our arms raised in defense of the enemy.

All efforts go to protecting our peace. Is there anything we can do?

I believe the answer is “yes”. A big “yes”.

What can we do?

We can build walls…big, strong walls!

“What?”, you say. “Build walls?”.

“Yes”, I say. “Build walls.”

“But what kind of wall?”

“Strategic walls, very strategic walls.”

To fight the lions and tigers and bears, we need towers, and gates and bars.

Scratching your head, you say, “Explain.”

Within the Old Testament there is a story of a king. A king without much recognition. It is not King David or King Solomon. Those were the popular kings wrapped up in the big stories.

This king’s name is King Asa, the son of King Abijah, the son of King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon. There you go, one you finally recognize.

For ten years, King Asa’s kingdom was at peace. A word rarely used to describe the Kingdom of Judah. But when Asa became king, he did something no other king had done. He removed the one thing that stood in the way of the people truly worshiping God. He removed their gods and destroyed the worship of any other foreign god allowing his kingdom to live in peace. These people had never experienced no fighting, no wars and no battle. In this moment there was good ole’ quiet peace. Within this peace, the people prospered.

Yet in this time of peace, King Asa built walls.

These were not walls for battle, these were walls for protection…protection of peace.

These walls were not of solid stone shutting in or keeping out any foreign intrusion, but these walls had openings. Within these walls were built towers, and gates, and bars…Oh my!

“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars.” II Chronicles 14:7

Towers, and gates, and bars…oh my!

Towers, and gates, and bars…Oh my!

TOWERS, AND GATES, AND BARS…OH MY!

Within our lives, we build walls. Unfortunately, the walls we build are solid with no openings. Our walls are thick giving us a false sense of safety and peace. Our quest for peace by using the wall becomes an illusion and over time breaks down into the reality of loneliness. We allow ourselves to become isolated to the point of disconnection therefore losing the very peace we set out to protect.

So, take the walls down?

No! Leave them up…just make a few adjustments!

Build towers, and gates, and bars within our wall.

To keep the peace that surrounds us, walls are critical for protection. But one of the most critical things we can add is a tower. Towers allow us to defend our peace by providing increased visibility of all surrounding areas. When an attack ensues, our tower gives us visibility allowing us to calculate which move we need therefore placing us strategically in the battle. God gives us the ability to look out from our towers and to choose wisely when a battle is about to ensue. When our peace feels as though it is getting disrupted, we can set ourselves in observation mode quieting our spirit before God pulling away in moments with God allowing Him to decipher what our next move is.

Now, gates are tricky. They open and they close. When King Asa put gates within the walls, these gates provided controlled access to the city. It was an offensive and defensive move. It kept people out and yet allowed some in. In our lives, it is critical that we put gates within our walls. Gates give us opportunities for connection with others. Yet it also allows us to keep the bad out. But operating those gates wisely is the key. When we open the gate to let someone in, we need to be wise of who we let in. To keep our peace, toxic people are simply not allowed. They have a place outside our gate. If we need to communicate with them, we control the gate. We can simple open the gate and have a conversation without letting them in. This could be someone who has no boundaries, someone with negative thoughts or actions. When we keep them outside of our gate, we are making the choice not to let their negativity influence us. But we also get to use our gate to let the bad out if by chance it has crept in, and to let the good in. So, with a simple flip of the handle, we can control our gate.

Then there are bars. Bars allow us to have windows. Windows allow us to receive sunshine and a warm breeze. When there are windows in our walls with bars, we can see outside allowing us to see an approaching enemy pushing us to protect our peace. But we can also see delightful movement of those around us. Bars protect, but they also provide for us.

During the time of King Asa scripture says there was peace on every side and yet he still built a wall.

The peace God gives is worth protecting therefore the concept of towers, gates and bars provides the tools we need to protect that peace. If we build a wall without these components, eventually we would feel trapped and confined. But walls with towers give us perspective, walls with gates allow the good in and bad out, and walls with windows that have bars protect us yet allowing the sunlight in and the breeze to infiltrate our space.

I believe the wall protecting my peace is God. His desire is for me to have peace in all circumstances. There are times He encourages me to climb to the top of the tower showing me potential disruptions of my peace. At times, He and I gather at the gate opening and closing it allowing the bad to exit and the good to enter. When I stand alongside Him, He provides the wisdom that I need to decipher the good and the bad. But then there are times when my peace is at critical risk and that is when He locks the gate, closes the tower and we position ourselves for protection from the enemy only allowing ourselves to peer through the barred windows. I can enjoy the sunlight, feel the breeze yet the enemy cannot reach me.

I challenge you to live with the awareness that God has built you a wall. Use that wall wisely allowing God to prepare you for the enemy as you look from the tower, provide for you as you open the gate letting good in and bad out, and protect you with the bars keeping you safe inside.

Written by Melody Westbrook. 
Melody Westbrook is the founder of The Walk Ministries, a ministry designed to bring women together through God’s story. She was a pastor’s wife for 35 years and has authored the book The Walk Back to Eden. She is a communicator who loves to tell God’s story written within each of us while using her personal experience of a broken marriage and childhood survivor of abuse to communicate God’s redemption story. She loves teaching real women real stories of real life from God’s word. You can find her at http://facebook.com/thewalk.edw/ 
You can find more of Melody's posts on the PriorityNow Blog here.