- Morning Devotional
- May 18,
2005
"Naysayers and Dragon Slayers"
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You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. These people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God. (1 John 4:4-6 NLT).
In the midst of any difficulty, we are tempted to listen to the naysayers. What we ought to do is practice being “dragon-slayers.” Life has a way of being challenging when you least are prepared. The “dragons” of our lives, whether they are emotional, financial, or physical, can often be ferocious. There are those that John describes as “false prophets” who would attempt to draw us away from the truth of God’s strength. The Holy Spirit lives within us as believers. No greater strength exists! It is this strength that allows us to be dragon slayers.
I read the following instruction on how to react to hungry pythons, as given to Peace Corpsmen serving in Brazil:
“Remember not to run away, the python can run faster. The thing to do is to lie flat on the ground on your back with your feet together, arms at your side, head well down. The python will then try to push its head under you, experimenting at every possible point. Keep calm (that was underscored).
“You must let him swallow your foot. It is quite painless and it will take a long time. If you lose your head and struggle, he will quickly whip his coils around you. If you keep calm and still, he will go on swallowing. Wait patiently until he has swallowed up to about your knee. Then carefully take out your knife and insert it into the distended side of his mouth and with a quick rip slit him up.”
Do you see the parallel? When we rest in the peace and strength of our God, we can overcome anything! Here’s a little verse from Whittier that might be and encouragement for you during those times in your life:
Drop thy still dew of
quietness
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