"Grrr" and Spiritual Victory

You might ask, "What could the sound 'grrr' possibly have in common with spiritual victory?" Everything - if you think of "grrr" describing the growl of a lion.

Wondering just where I'm going with this? Let me try to explain.

Interestingly, one of the Hebrew words translated "meditate" in the Bible is also used to describe a lion's growl (see Isaiah 31:4). Are you thinking this is a bizarre concept? Well, the idea is that Biblical meditation may involve quoting the Scriptures half-aloud at times. So like the low, growl of a lion, one of the ways Believers meditate is to quote God's Word softly aloud to themselves. And the way this is tied to spiritual victory is simple. As Christians meditate on God's Word and allow it to saturate their minds, they arm themselves with God's truth and experience spiritual victory.

This is the example of spiritual victory Jesus gave to us. For instance, Christ spoke God's truth when He was tempted. Actually, He quoted it without exception to quench every flaming temptation Satan fired His way (see Matthew 4:1-11). Do you remember the Devil's first attack on the Son of God in the wilderness? It focused on food, but Christ overcame Satan by voicing the truth of Deuteronomy 8:3b which says that "man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (NIV). Jesus doubtlessly meditated on God's Word which meant that He always had spiritual truth at His proverbial fingertips. This is why He experienced victory over all Satan's temptations.

Of course, you are also in a battle with Satan, and God's Word is your weapon. Paul teaches that the Word of God is "the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17, NIV), and the writer of Hebrews explains that "the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). Clearly, when you grab the sword of the Spirit with your fists of faith, you follow Christ's example and are postured for spiritual victory. As you meditate on the Scriptures and live by its truth, you confess with the Psalmist, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11, NIV).

So while you don't literally "growl like a lion" or say "grrr" when you practice Biblical meditation, you do fill your mind with the truth of the Scriptures. And when you do this, you're armed for battle and poised for spiritual victory! So do you see now? The sound "grrr" may be a very good description for how you can meditate on God's Word and speak its truth in order to overcome the attacks of Satan and experience spiritual victory!