The Lion, The Adder, And The Dragon
by Dr. Harold Sala
“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” -Psalm 91:13, KJV
The King James text of Psalm 91 talks about the lion, the adder, and the dragon, over which you as God’s trusting child can triumph. All of the difficulties and challenges that you will ever face in life are represented by one of these three images. Lions are bold. They meet you head on, unplanned and unexpected. The telephone rings and the caller has bad news. You open an envelope to learn that you are being sued by your competitor. A pink slip with your pay envelope tells you that you are unemployed. Like lions, certain difficulties confront you in life, and you cower or feel like running when they confront you. The reality, however, is that there is no escape from some of the difficulties which stand in your path.
Adders are poisonous snakes, and of all the creatures that God created, snakes are among the most unlikable. No wonder the devil is personified as a serpent who confronted our first parents in the Garden. But snakes and lions are vastly different. Lions roar. Snakes hiss, so I have read. Having never allowed myself to get close enough to verify that report, I’ll accept it on hearsay.
Snakes slither quietly through the grass or vegetation until their prey gets close enough to attack, and then the deadly fangs of the adder do their damage. There is no warning with snakes, no loud roars, no footprints on the trail of your life. The snake simply appears and your heart is filled with terror.
I relate many of the unexpected surprises of a negative nature to the stinging attack of the adder. Someone says something, something totally unexpected coming from a source you would never have thought capable of saying what you hear, something happens and like a Judas who sells your friendship, you are attacked.
The third image in this triad of creatures which Psalm 91 talks about is the dragon. Question: Have you ever seen a dragon, I mean, a real fire-belching, flame-spouting dragon? No, of course not, unless it was on Chinese New Year when the dragon was actually propelled by youth in costumes. Dragons are beasts of your imagination or fearsome creatures of mythology. Nonetheless, the dragons of life are terrible creatures of our fear or folly who rob us of our peace of mind. They are the things you fear may happen, such as your health giving out, your money being exhausted before you are, or the world collapsing, or whatever.
Since dragons don’t really exist, they come from within, sometimes our imaginations, sometimes our fears. But that doesn’t mean they are not real, for they are. The greatest battles in life are not those fought with tanks or guns but the struggles within, at times doing battle with ourselves, our imaginations, our fears, our hallucinations.
And what’s the answer to these three fearsome creatures? “Dwelling in the secret place of the most high,” says Psalm 91. It’s a relationship with God whereby you are not overcome by the dragons, the serpents, or the lions of life. God can be a refuge, a place of security, a high tower to which you can run when you are challenged by the lion, or stung by the serpent, or threatened by the dragon.
Here is God’s promise to you: “‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation’” (Psalm 91:15-17).
What more can you ask when you are confronted with difficulty?
