Seeking Prey from God

“The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.” Psalm 104:21

This is a challenging phase of my life where I’m learning to eat like a lion, not like a zebra or a gazelle.

I’m used to eating like a zebra. For zebras and other herbivores food is not very nutritious but it is very plentiful- stretching as far as the eye can see and oftentimes accessible with a simple bend of the head. In order to obtain a body weight of 500 to 900 pounds, zebras spend the majority of their time eating, sometimes 15 to 20 hours a day. To eat like a zebra means a rather boring menu but stability and predictability….honestly, relative ease.

And while lions, as apex predators with rippling muscles, fierce canines and a penchant for raw flesh, appear ruthless and powerful, many aspects of their existence are much more vulnerable. Lions do not have the opportunity to eat hourly or even daily. A lion’s body is designed in every aspect to sustain long periods of scarcity, sometimes 2 weeks or up to a month without a meal.

When  lions go without food they are able to slow their metabolism to protect essential organ function and break down their fat stores before muscle, preserving necessary strength for the hunt. During times of fasting lions sleep for up to 20 hours a day to preserve energy and water until prey becomes available. When food becomes present, lions often demonstrate extraordinary patience to observe and stalk their prey, then use coordinated teamwork and speed to bring down a kill. The whole process is difficult and complex; way harder than munching on mouthful after mouthful of grass.

For me in the wake of so many tough life decisions, in the brutal task of understanding truth and even harder- understanding myself- I am like a little sleeping lioness preserving my energy in a time of scarcity. I’m tired of taking it day by day and I have so many questions: “But what about my long-term housing?” “How will I pay for Abbi’s college?” “Will I ever get my farm?”

But just as lioness I am learning how to wait, to thrive in the unknown and seek my prey from God.

Sources: londonzoo.org, Sandiegozoo.org , afjrd.org, medium.com/@animallearn