Note: Sorry for another lion, but there aren’t any tigers mentioned in Scripture.

The daughter of a colleague once complained about the Compline lesson I quoted last week. “Your adversary the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (2 Peter 5:8). “Why does the Bible have to be so mean to lions?” she demanded. I pondered that point for a time. Then one day I was reading the psalms and came across this: “The young lions roar for their prey and ask their food from God” (Psalm 104:21, the Grail Translation).

I love the idea of a lion roaring as a way of saying grace. The Psalmist had a marvelous understanding of the LORD who created everything in proper order. There are trees for birds, mountains for goats, grass for cattle. Even the sea monster Leviathan has oceans to sport in. God provides for everything.

“These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.”

If the lion roars for its dinner, what should we do? The Psalmist tells us: “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” While not everybody wants to sing, everybody can give thanks and praise God for the bounties given. It is our delight to begin each meal with an expression of gratitude to the Lord who provides everything.

Read Psalm 104:21-34 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne