Catch a tiger

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Catch a tiger by the toe.

What is this foolishness? Have you seen a tiger? They're big. Some of them are 11 feet long. (The one pictured here, a Sumatran tiger, is small as far as tigers go, averaging 7 to 9 feet.) Tigers are the largest member of the cat family.

And they're fast. They can run 40 miles per hour (65 km/hr for my non-US friends). They can jump more than 16 feet.

Water won't stop them either. Unlike your pet cat, these giant kitties seem to like water. They're excellent swimmers, able to cover over 3 miles at a time. In some parts of the world, they routinely swim from island to island.

Plus, their roar is terrifying.

Now, I know that a tiger isn't a lion. (The lion is actually smaller, and has a history of losing in a one-to-one fight.) But this giant feline got me thinking about a lion I'd like to avoid:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Peter then tells believers to "Resist him." What happens when we do? James tells us. The devil will run away. Here it is: Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

But the reason the devil runs is in the very next sentence: Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.

God's presence matters. Alone, I don't stand a chance against an angry or hungry lion (or tiger). Yet with Him, I don't need to worry. And I don't need to be afraid. The lion roars. But it's the roar of a defeated feline.

Scriptures: 1 Peter 5:8; James 4:7-8; Job 4:10

By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK - Sumatran Tiger 2Uploaded by tm, CC BY 2.0.