As Dorothy, The Scarecrow, and The Tinman were following the yellow brick when out of nowhere a lion jumped out at them and tried to attack. They were all terrified. The lion decided to try and go after Toto. Dorothy was not about to see her precious friend get harmed so she ran up and slapped the Lion. He then broke into tears. Come to find out he was nothing but a coward. The lion then became their friend and agreed to help in their mission of making it to the Emerald City. The lion was a coward but he was able to overcome his shortcomings to help kill The Wicked Witch of the West.
In the Bible, God asked Moses to go back to Egypt and demand the Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Exodus 4 verse 10 says “10 Moses raised another objection to God: “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.”” Moses felt in adequate because of his speech problems. But God had bigger plans for him. The Lord sent Aaron to help him. Moses then went on to challenge Pharaoh. The plagues of Egypt were brought down on him, and in the end The Pharaoh freed the Israelites.
In The Wizard of Oz The Lion was able to overcome his shortcomings exactly like Moses was able to overcome his. In life this can be so true in our lives as well. I think back to last year when my wife and I moved from Georgia to Reno. My wife told me that there were two things that she would never do. She said that she would never be in the choir and that she would never be a leader in the youth group. It has been almost a year since we completed the move and she has now done both of those things. Everyone has shortcomings and insecurities. The Lion was a coward, The Tinman didn’t have a heart, The Scarecrow didn’t have any brains. They all had these things that could have easily held them back from helping complete their ultimate goal. My wife has been able to overcome so man y of her shortcomings and fears, and it was all for the glory of God. I also think of so many of my own fears that I am trying to overcome. I have a strong fear of judgement. There are so many things that I have done in my life that I am not proud of. I have been able to learn from these things, but it still scares me to share them with others.
The great part of The Lion’s story is that he was able to overcome his fears and shortcomings, just as Moses was able to stand up to the Pharaoh. I have hope that I will be able to overcome my fears as well.
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Dear Lord,
I thank you so much for challenging me to be like the Lion and to overcome my fears and shortcomings. Without you life would be hopeless. I thank you so much for my family. Without them I would not be the man I am today. I thank you for my wife. She is such an inspiration to me. She is my rock and she is so strong. Dear Lord I thank you for my friend David. He has helped reignite my fire and passion for you. I thank you for Josh (scarecrow). He is so wise. I look up to him so much, and even though I give him a hard time I really do love him. Dear Lord I pray for my 3 people. You know who they are and you know the potential they have. I thank you so much for being a part of my life. I ask all of these things in your name.
Amen
Yours in Christ
Jake Harper
Day 3 of 100 Days of Discipline
Day 12 Seizure Free
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Escaped From OZ 