Make Yourself Big

My good friend Kristina is a wildlife tech.  She surveys forests on unbeaten paths, looking for endangered birds and searching for any indication that a bear has been in the area.

 

Of course, she’s asked frequently if she’s ever seen a bear.

And what’s the best thing to do about it if a person ever does see a bear.

Her best advice is: “Make yourself big.”

Pull your parka or shirt to full arms’ length above your head and stand your ground.

Don’t make eye contact.

And, whatever you do, don’t run!

If you’re like me, the irony of it all makes this advice seem almost foolish. 

Kind of like the command:  

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

Don’t run.

Pretend you’re not weaker than he is.

Hide the fact you’re shaking in your boots.

And wait for him to be intimidated by you.

If you run into a bear, this is the best advice. 

For some reason, he’ll be afraid of you.

When it comes to resisting the devil, it’s the same thing:  Make yourself big.

Tap into the bigness of the One who is in you, who is greater than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

When temptation comes. . .

To anger.  Blatant sin.  Over-indulgence. 

Gossip.  Doubt.

The world. The flesh. And the devil . . .

Resist.

Don’t flee.  Don’t retreat.

“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Eph. 6:10)

I’m no match for a bear.

But, for some reason, if he thought I was big and scary, he’d run.

You and I are no match for the devil and his temptations.

But if we stand our ground, we can watch him run.

Simply by being “big.”

By communicating (to our own heart first!) that the strength of a big God is on our side.

I may never come face-to-face with a bear.

But daily I'm confronted with temptations that loom just as large.

The advice (the command) is the same: “Make yourself big.” 

Rise up bigger in the strength of the Lord, and in the power of his might.

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)