Jewels From JudyThursday, May 21 2009
A Prowling Lion: A Revelatory Dream About The Church, Her Leadership, And The Defenseless: In this vivid dream I was coming out of a building with a group of people. We had been at some sort of conference or seminar, but I didn't recognize anyone in the group. As we were walking out of the building, we came under a long awning. Right in front of us a large but thin and mangy looking male lion was on the prowl. He boldly strolled down the middle of street. He saw the group, but paid no attention to us. As he looked for prey, the lion saw some unsupervised children playing in the street. They were directly in front of him and to our left. As he started to stalk them, they all scattered to get away from him. The lion picked out one young boy as his victim and I could see that he would have quickly kill the child if someone didn't stop him. I yelled loudly; it was not a word but a noise. The lion turned toward us and the group groaned, gasped in fear, and shirked back. I was shocked by their lack of concern for the child and even more surprised by their collective cowardice. It was clear they were more distraught by my bringing the lion's attention to our position than for the child's wellbeing. When the lion saw the group was not going to stop him, he quickly turned back to his original target and again went after the child. The lion was quickly approaching the child when I let out the loud noise for a second time. Again the agitated lion turned from his pursuit of the boy and threatened us. The group had the exact same spineless reaction as the first time. The predator saw we were no real threat and turned back to hunt down the boy. I felt I had to do something to distract the lion from the child. Since the group didn't share my conviction to help him, I decided I needed to leave them and divert the lion's attention away from the child. Stepping out from under the awning, I crossed the street making noises to get his attention. The mangy lion suddenly turned and charged me! Even from a distance his eyes penetrated mine. I quickly ran back under the awning and rejoined the safety of the group. As soon as the lion saw this, he turned his attention away from me and again targeted the boy. For the fourth and surely final time, he lunged at the child. I knew if I cried out one more time the group would abandon me to the lion, but if I didn't the boy would be devoured right in front of us. I was so distraught and in such a disparaging state of mind; I had no idea what to do to save him. Suddenly, from somewhere above the awning, another lion leaped in with a man riding on his back. This lion was majestic! He was beautiful, very fit, had clean, gracefully flowing fur, and was adorned with a golden saddle inlaid with many large jewels. The man riding the magnificent lion swiftly withdrew his sword and killed the mangy lion before it could come any closer to the child. Praise God! I woke up feeling such satisfaction, deep relief and tremendous, exuberant joy! I was thanking God for that child's salvation. Interpretation: The group of people "under an awning" would appear to represent an assembly of people under the same protection. Most likely a church group, but there was no clear leader. It may have been because we had come together for a conference or seminar. We had been inside learning, but when we came out and were faced with the enemy, we as a group did not know what to do. (See2 Timothy 3:7). It could be that the group is more symbolic of the Church in general. (Referring here to believers of all Christian denominational backgrounds.) Another thought is that when an attack comes or an emergency arises we as a society are dependent on each other for help. No matter where we are when an urgent situation or disaster strikes, we are dependent on those around us to work together or greater harm will be the result. Together we are strong, divided we are weak and more so for those unable to defend themselves. The word of God is full of Scriptures commanding us to care for the fatherless and the widow, yet that is a command often overlooked by the Church. In the ministry I have learned that I cannot help orphans myself - I need others to help me defend them. (See Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 22:3; Matthew 25:40). The mangy lion is Satan roaming the earth to see who he can devour. (See 1 Peter 5:8). He was boldly walking down the middle of the street for anyone to see which reveals that he has been left unchallenged for the most part. When he was only slightly confronted, the lion threatened the group in such a manner that not only frighten them, but also caused them turn on the person who exposed the enemy's ploy. (Kill the messenger!) Theirs was a typical human reaction when comfort and safety are threatened, and he knew it. The lion never really made a truly aggressive attack toward the group. The menacing manner in which he came towards us was more to intimidate us to inactionthan to actually harm us. I believe he was making sure we were not going to get between him and his intended victim. He was concealing that he was, in reality, afraid of the group and stopped us from confronting him by using intimidation. This would reveal that many demonic attacks are designed to frighten and intimidate us just enough to keep us from taking action against them. Satan and his demons are then free to ravage the weak. He hopes they can appear so frightening that we will totally withdraw our assault against him and his cohorts. We are further led to believe, generally by our own flesh's desire for our own care and comfort, that if we do not challenge the approaching lion and stay in our area of comfort, we will be alright. This does not reflect the life Christ called us to live to be more than conquerors! (See Romans 8:37). While we do need to stay together, and there is comfort in that, we also need to put aside our own self-interests and come together to protect those who are too weak to protect themselves. The mangy lion was distracted from his intended kill by only one voice. Can you imagine how quickly he would have fled the scene had everyone joined together and started yelling at him? If he would have gotten that child, he surely would have returned for more! Perhaps this is why he was so bold in the first place. After careful reflection of this dream, it seems evident to me that the devil represented by the mangy lion was accustomed to coming straight into our cities and prey on street children. They were easy prey and he had not been challenged by those able to stop him. We need to learn to attack the enemy on a united front and protect God's children! The unsupervised children seem to be symbolic of; A) Lost sheep (See Luke 15:4-7 and Matthew 18:10-14). The boy singled out by the lion seems to be a child at his weakest, but I believe any of those children would have been an easy target. Children also represent our future. As a whole, we are all singled out for attack when we are children. Many people have to deal with a trauma that took place in their childhood that continually seeks to destroy their life. The loud noise I made was a type of intercession. When Regal Lion and the man of God heard it, they understood that they needed to intervene and they took action. (See Romans 8:26, 27). The shout I made sounded more like a trumpet that was blown or an alarm was sounded. (See Joel 2:1). There is a military term called, "Bounding Overwatch". This is when one team stays out of the enemy's sight and keeps to the rear and/or side of who is being guarded. If that person or group is threatened, then those in Bounding Overwatch come to the rescue. Woot!!! Leaving the group to distract the mangy lion was a foolish and dangerous thing to do. Much to my dismay, even though the enemy was thin and mangy, I was no match against him on my own. (See Jude 9). Though I recognized something had to be done, in the end I realized I was not going to be able to save that child without help. I also realized that my death would not help the child either. When we move on our own to confront the enemy we can become the prey. God does not call us to walk alone in the middle of a battle. If we are to leave a group we are not to leave during times of conflict but during times of peace. Even though the group did not come to the aid of the child or react the way I thought they should, I became the target when I stepped away from the safety of fellowship. (See Proverbs 11:14, Hebrews 10:24, 25). I was protected when I came back under the awning and stood with them. The children being scattered is what made them easy prey. (See Matthew 26:31) The Regal Lion and the Man riding Him were the heroes! Honestly the sight of them took my breath away they were so magnificent! At first I wondered the man and the lion were both Jesus. However, as I reflected on this dream I believe that the regal lion was Jesus; the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the man was one who has been chosen to serve the Lord as a protector of His flock. This "man of God" is symbolic of those who ride or operate in the power of God, who have been chosen by Him, have learned to wield the sword of the Spirit, and know how and when to protect the lost sheep. When the majestic Lion of the Tribe of Judah came in carrying the man of God, the man drew his sword, which is the word of God, and swiftly ended the attack of the enemy! (See Eph 6:10-18). Christ, the Word made flesh, in the man is what brought the victory! It takes men and women of God who not only know how to wield the sword to beat such a foe, but they must be given the authority by God to ride atop the Lion of Judah to defend those who are lost as well as those in the Church. It would be dangerous to sit in thatsaddle presumptuously. This is a place only the King of kings can grant! It would also seem prudent to point out that it would be unwise to be in direct opposition to such a God-appointed person. I believe the ending of this dream reveals that it will take strong leaders who operate in godly power to teach the body of Christ how to wield the sword and to show that the body of Christ that we are already more than conquerors. (See Romans 8:37). This way it won't matter what we are engaged in doing or what group we are among when attacks come. We will all (Christians of all denominations) know what to do and we will be more than able to stand victorious in Christ. (See Matt 11:12). The enemy being utterly destroyed, not just distracted, was the work of a true commander. Those who ride in Christ's authority take note. In the Father's abiding love, Judy Bauman Dream - 1/25/05 |
