Courage 2

Do you remember the lion in The Wizard of Oz? What did he ask the wizard for? He asked for courage. Courage is being fearless, brave, daring, and bold.  When I think of lions I think of fierce, strong, bold and courageous. I would love to hug one but would be too afraid. Have you seen their teeth?

In Africa there is a lion family. A family of lions is called a pride. In our story we will concentrate on three of the lions: the dad Bomani, pronounced Bo MAH nee which means warrior, a mom Desta, pronounced DEH stah which means happiness, and a cub named Akin, pronounced ah Keen meaning brave boy.

The three of them were so happy when Akin was born. He was so cute and cuddly. He purred often and snuggled with his parents whenever they were near.  In fact, he was never far from them. At first they thought he was just an affectionate cub but the truth came out one rainy day.

The day started like any other day except cloudy. Soon, the rain started. Akin enjoyed the light rain until it got worse. Lightening followed by a crash of thunder and he almost jumped out of his skin! He scraped and crawled under his mom. He surprised her by his behavior and she jumped up. He mewed and scurried under her again. She rubbed her head against him and licked him trying to calm him down. She realized he was shaking. Both Bomani and Desta tried to make him understand about thunder. “The thunder and lightening won’t hurt you.” They told him but he wouldn’t stop trembling.

From that day on he showed signs of being fearful of the smallest things. If both Bomani and Desta were gone, Akin hid deep in the den. After a hunt for food, Desta searched and finally found Akin hiding. She carried him to the kill so he could eat. This happened many times. If he was not right beside her or his dad, he was hiding. They didn’t know what to do about him. How would he ever survive on his own?

Early one morning before dawn, Desta went on a search for food. Her hunts normally lasted a few hours. When the sun was just cresting the horizon, Akin peeked out of his den thinking his dad would be asleep right outside. He was not there. His mom should have returned by now. Where could they be?

He timidly crept out of the den. Seeing no sign of them, he began to get worried. After waiting what seemed a long time, his worry overcame his fear and he ventured out.

He saw his dad’s foot prints in the dew covered grass and followed them.  These led to the edge of a ravine where the ground had broken off. Akin cocked his head wondering why the foot prints stopped there so abruptly.

He hadn’t learned how to roar, so the sound that came from him was a plaintive cry, a cross between a growl and a loud meow. He thought he heard an answer coming from below. He got down on his stomach and crawled forward trying not to slide off the edge on the loose dirt. Peering over he again, he meowed this time louder. He heard a reply that sounded sort of like his dad. He backed up and walked carefully along the edge until he found a safer way down. He slowly descended angling back to where he thought the reply came from. Under a pile of rocks he found his dad. “Dad! Are you alright? What happened? Get up!”

His dad's voice was slightly above a whisper. “Son, I’m glad you came. I’m alright- just stuck and shaken.”

 “What can I do to help?”

“I don’t think you are strong enough to move theses big rocks and they might crash down on you.”

“Dad you sound terrible. Have you been here long?”

“I came right after sun up. That’s when the ground gave way and I’ve been stuck here since. I roared for help until my throat became too dry. I’m glad you heard me.”

“Mom’s not back yet, but I've an idea.”  Akin climbed down into the ravine to the stream below. He got a drink. After he quenched his thirst, he filled his mouth with the cool water. Without swallowing, he carefully climbed up to his father. Akin got right up against his dad’s mouth and emptied the water he was holding. His dad was surprised by the water, but grateful. Akin went back two more times for more water.

“I’m going to go find Mom. She will know what to do.”

He found her dragging a zebra to their eating area. “Dad is stuck under some rocks. We gotta get him out! Come on!’

He ran back to the top of the ravine with his mom right behind him. She said, “Be careful son that looks dangerous.”

“It is. That’s where dad fell. Come this way and we can climb down. I’ve already been down to him.”

She followed him to where Bomani was. She licked Bomani and then climbed further up and pushed the largest rock. The rock barely moved. Akin climbed up and helped. Little by little the rock slid. They pushed until Bomani was able to get his feet under him. With a mighty shove, the rock slid down the ravine crashing into the water below.

“Yippee!” shouted Akin.

The three snuggled for a minute then Akin led the way up out of the ravine. Back at the den after gorging on the zebra, Bomani said, “Akin, I am very proud of you. It took great courage to do what you did. You climbed down a steep and dangerous cliff and did it many times. Desta, you should have seen him. He took danger in stride and climbed down to the bottom and got me a drink of water. He figured that out all by himself too. Three times he went for water until I was able to clear my mouth of dirt and speak.”

Akin was beaming as he bathed in the praise of his dad. Akin learned not to be fearful of things. Everyday his courage grew until he became a courageous lion. When he grew up he was a great leader of his own pride.

God wants you to be courageous, not fearful. Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of good courage… Joshua 10:25Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage…”

Memorize: Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.

Courage

Oh No! A fire!

The rain was in the distance. They could smell and see it. The lightning was ahead of the storm that was coming right at them. Animals can sense storms before they get there. Most of the animals of the forest took cover in their dens, caves, and in thick brush.

Lightning lit up the sky. Without warning, a single bolt ripped out of the clouds straight down and struck a tree. Immediately, the tree burst into flames. The flames leapt at the next tree and the next and the next. The fire was out of control, devouring bushes and trees in its path.

The large animals ran and smaller ones scurried. Where to go? The elk, deer, coyote, and mountain lion ran together away from the fire. The large ones covered more ground than the smaller ones.

The fire was huge, blocking the paths of escape. The only path out of the dense forest and away from the fire was between two rocky cliffs. It was a narrow opening, only large enough for one animal at a time.  Most of the animals got through the exit before a large tree fell into the opening blocking the escape.

The unfortunate animals that were blocked from escaping were the smaller animals. There were rabbits, skunks, foxes, badgers, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, raccoons, and porcupines. All they were thinking about was escape and survival. They were trapped. Some tried to climb over the tree, only to be blocked. The fire was getting dangerously close. There was no way to escape. Snakes slithered, sniffing the air with their tongues. Rabbits and mice cowered, not afraid of the snake, but of the fire.  

Then Elliot, one of the skunks, said, “Listen, I know how we can get out!”

 Finn the fox said, “Why should we listen to you?”

“Because I know the way. You have to trust and follow me. We don’t have much time!” answered Elliot.

With worry in her voice, Claire the porcupine said, “Why would any animal want to follow the back side of a skunk? That’s dangerous! If you get frightened, we could all get sprayed!”

Elliot responded, “I promise I won’t hurt any of you, but we have to move. Come on!”

He ran through the brush and bushes away from the fallen tree and parallel to the fire. The other animals realized they didn’t have another option and followed.

After a while, they came to a huge ravine. “Whoa, what do we do? We can’t climb down,” wined Claire.

Elliot said, “Further up the side is a fallen tree that reaches across. We can cross there.”

They followed their leader, Elliot. When he reached the tree he said, “Come on everyone, it’s difficult, but we can do it. We just need to take it slow.”

The ravine was wide and very deep. The fallen tree barley reached the other side. The tree was not very big around and would be hard to walk on. The animals cowered as a new fear took hold of them. They were scared they would fall to their death.

Elliot started across but stopped, turned, and said, “Look, I know you are all frightened, but this is the only way. Follow me!”

Slowly, one by one, they followed him across the ravine on the tree. On the other side he saw there were others who had not the courage to cross. Elliot got back on the log and crossed back. The fire was roaring closer. The smoke stung his eyes.

Elliot said, “You need to come. The fire is getting closer!”

A brave rabbit climbed up and more animals followed him over. When they were safely on the other side, Elliott went back for another group. This time he could hardly see. His eyes were burning and watering and the smoke was thick. A small snake named Archer was too afraid to cross. Elliot didn’t like snakes, but he knew the heat from the fire was getting to Archer.

Elliot got down flat on the ground and said, “Archer, climb on my back and I’ll take you across.”

Archer slithered up on Elliot’s back making him shudder. He knew he could not think about having a snake on his back. So as fast as he could, he walked through the smoke choking air and crossed the log.

When they got safely over, they turned to look back just as the fire reached their tree log.

Elliot said, “We need to push the tree off so the fire doesn’t spread to this side.”

Together the animals pushed with their heads and paws. Inch by inch it slid until it fell down into the ravine and crashed at the bottom. Now the fire could not reach them. A great cheer rose up from all the animals.

“Hooray for Elliot!”

Finn the fox said, “Elliot, you have a lot of courage. You took many trips across the log without concern to your own safety. I admit I was skeptical, but you proved you were right all along. We all thank you.”

Elliot became a hero to all the animals that day. His fame spread all through the forest.

Boys and Girls, Elliot showed great courage to help the animals cross the log to safety. The Bible tells us to have courage. Do you have courage? The Lord will help you and He promises never to leave you.

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of good courage… 1: 7 Only be strong and very courageous… 1: 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Deuteronomy 31:6-7 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

 Memorize all or part of: Deuteronomy 31:6-7 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.