Lions and Unicorns

In other words, save me from my enemies, both physical and imaginary.

Our imaginations can sometimes do far more damage than real enemies, creating scenarios that will never happen, tainting our days with fears and anxieties that never materialize. Small hurts and injustices become massive pits of sorrow, books of over the top self-sacrificing scenarios which will never (and should never) be written. Thank goodness. Who would want to read an epic sob story? Whereas, stories of heroic self-sacrifice lift our spirits and encourage us. The difference? In the inspiring stories, the hero’s goal is to overcome the difficulty, not wallow in it.

At least my imagined scenarios only go so far. After conjuring up the lowest possible point my life could reach, my faith kicks in.  God will preserve and rescue me. Always.

If only God and I remained, it would be enough. I do believe that. And so, faith pulls me back from the brink, spins me around, and shows me how much I have to be thankful for.

I doubt Daniel worried too much about fanciful problems when he faced the hungry lions. He didn’t lay there, immobile and terrified, imagining all the horrors that might befall him. No. He immediately turned his thoughts toward God in prayer.

“My God has sent his angel, and shut the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me.” Daniel 7:22

If He can shut the mouths of lions, will He not also drive away the unicorns if I ask Him?