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Briton
Rivière
(1890) |
Daniel was master of the lions because he had enough
understanding to be master of himself (of his own thoughts and feeling) at that
time. We need not be afraid of the lions in our path if we have understanding,
for with the understanding of Life the lions will not harm us, but will be
chained, as far as we are concerned.
Have you ever read the story
about the men who started out through a dense forest to find the home of the
King who lived in a wonderful palace far on the other side of the forest?
It seems that the
King had written to these three men and invited them to come to him and had
even sent them a paper upon which was an outline of the forest and the very
path they were to follow in order to reach his home. The path they were to
follow was in the middle of the forest and was very narrow, while wide bypaths
branched off from it all the way along. He warned them against these tempting
by-paths and promised them if they would faithfully follow his directions they
would reach his palace and live with him forever in all joy and happiness. So
these three men started on the journey with the King's script before them. Very
soon one man fell back because people on the way told him how utterly foolish
he was in such an attempt; that many had tried it and had failed because huge
lions lay in the path before them.
So
now the two went on. Presently a great noise was heard. It was the roar of a
lion. The sound echoed throughout the great forest, and it seemed that the lion
must be directly in their path. Another of the men was now afraid and hastening
from the straight path took a road that led him into another direction. But one
man was now left and with sinking heart and quivering breath he continued in
the straight and narrow path. The lions continued to roar until the very earth
upon which he was standing trembled beneath him. Then was he terrified, indeed.
Again he looked long and earnestly at the sketch the King had sent him to
follow. There was no mistake; he was following right in the very path that the
King had outlined and which he said if he followed would bring him safely to
his wonderful home. Could the King be wrong? Would the King deceive him? A
thousand times, No! But the lions in his path? What did they mean? He could not
answer. All he could do was to trust, to have faith and confidence in the
King's promises, and to continue regardless
of the lions.
So now he walked on
and soon the roars were so loud and so close to him that he could not move
another inch, his trembling was so great. And then, right before him, right in
the very path, it seemed, were two great lions whose cries shook the earth.
But,
having come so far the man would not now turn back. All he could think was
this;──"the
King would not deceive me." Shaking and trembling he moved forward right
toward the lions, when behold!─what did he
see?─Why, the lions were chained! One on each side of the path, yet neither could reach
him. Oh, what joy was his! With happy heart he walked along the path right
between the hungry roaring lions and there, right before him, was the King's
palace and the King himself coming to greet him and give him the joys that he
had promised.
Ponder this lesson well and, when fearful and worried
over evil appearances strive to understand the reality and certainty of the
promise of Nature, Life. Strive to live in harmony with the laws of Life and thus
eradicate the sense of fear.
What
if we are terrified! What if the lions do seem real and true to us! We know
that Life's promises are truer than all the seeming lions in our path. And,
if we do our mental work faithfully and well, we will soon discover to our
great joy that the lions we so feared are indeed chained, that is, powerless to
harm us.
The
new heaven and new earth will come to us by degrees through renewed thinking and
feeling until we are "changed from glory to glory" and become a new
creature, born of God, Understanding; fearless, confident and pure, until we
come "unto a perfect man . . . unto the fullness of Christ."
How to Have Abundance
1922
by Lillian DeWaters
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