Bold as a Lion

 Proverbs 28:1, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion."

I have been thinking about this post for months now - ummmm... as in since last October when we went to Ruaha.  Benjamin said he was going to be VERY disappointed if we didn't get to see lions on our safari.  I thought it would be pretty cool, but I would have been fine with not seeing them too.

We were blessed to encounter a small pride (6 females and two males) wandering lazily in search of shade.

We saw them walking along the dirt road and our driver drove a little closer, then turned off the engine.  They walked right past us, barely giving us a glance.

These pictures don't even pretend to do these majestic animals justice.  The size, the power, cannot be captured on film (okay, so maybe by a professional photographer with a really good camera without batteries that were almost dying...)

 At one point, they actually had our vehicle surrounded.  I was glad they didn't seem that energetic, as the whole top of our vehicle was open and it probably would have just taken a little leap for them to end our lives!

We were all struck by the nonchalance of these animals until our driver shared their 'secret'.  These animals have no natural predators.  Why would there be any fear in them if they have nothing to fear?

 A little while later, this verse came to mind - about the righteous being as bold as a lion.  The Strong's definition of bold is two-fold, meaning 'confident' and 'secure'.

So what is our key to being confident and secure as Christians?  It is to be righteous.  I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 14:30, "...the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.'

Christ was living a righteous life.  There was no sin in him; therefore, the enemy had no power over him.

Our boldness, our confidence and security come from being covered by the righteousness of God.  By walking in HIS light, being obedient to HIM.

(Hope these pics aren't huge - I didn't compress them at all!!)                                   xoxo - Aud. :)