Dragon Slayer

My flesh was the dragon and it’s desires were the fangs and fire it breathed. Most days I fought the dragon valiantly. The fire had burned me many times but still I fought. The fangs had pierced my skin on multiple occasions yet I stood my ground. The only shield I thought I had to deflect the fire was my own determination. And the fangs, well I usually just bore the pain of their cuts and scrapes, somehow escaping the full deadliness of their bite. This was my life and it was very real. Everyday I fought the dragon, sometimes it defeated me but on other days I won. The victorious days however, gave me no comfort but perhaps it did give me a little satisfaction. I knew though, that tomorrow I would face the dragon again.

You all know very well what I am speaking of for you also fight the dragon every day. I fear for you as a mother fears for her children because the dragon is powerful. I fear that the dragon will overcome you for he is crafty and often nearly unrecognizable. The beast if he overcomes you will make you a slave to his fire breathing and deadly fangs. There is only one way to truly defeat the dragon. There is only one way to be free from the fire and fangs.

Let me show you the dragon in your life.

I awoke with sleep tugging upon my eyes. The morning had come but it was not time for me to be up yet. The thought swept through me that I could use this time to enjoy God but then the dragon appeared from no where. I did not want to fight and so the fire engulfed me in its flames. Back to sleep I went, comfortable and warm within the dragon’s fire. The alarm went off thirty minutes later and thus my day began. I started the routine I was so accustomed to.
Several times during the day the dragon came upon me. I knew how to fight back and so in a moment of guilt with little sincerity I began to fight. I thanked God for the morning but that was all I said before the dragons fangs had clamped around my arm. The rest of the day as the dragon attacked the results were similar except once.

I had just arrived home and the answering machine light was blinking. I was tired and hungry so I listened to the message as I hurried around the kitchen. My heart sank as I heard my sister choke back tears as she told me that the result of the biopsy came back positive. My sister had late stages of stomach cancer. As I talked with her on the phone my own stomach turned and my own tears fell. The outcome did not look good. It was then after I hung up that the dragon came at me. I was compelled to fight this time and I picked up the sword and swung hard. For nearly ten minutes I cried out to God with sincerity, longing for His comfort. The dragon retreated.
That night as I slipped into bed the dragon again flared its nostrils and bore it fangs. I fought again and we wrestled for several minutes. My prayers were dry but I continued. At last Psalms 111 made the dragon flee and so I put down the sword and slept.

We all fight dragons and we all are defeated now and again. Christ was never defeated though and why? I suppose there are many reasons but I can’t seem to escape one particular reason. Christ desired his Father and He wanted everyone to desire His Father like he did (John 17).

Christ first and foremost was committed to the Father. Out of this commitment came the motivation to fight well and to win. Are we as committed to the Father? We can be and Christ calls us to be. Commitment is not always easy, in fact it seldom is. But those who are committed to the Father know what it is like to fight with purpose.

Passion, longing and desire for the Father follows commitment. One may be committed and not yet have the Father at the center of their affections. If you are committed to the Father is he at the center of your world? Do you desire Him? If not then tell Him so and ask for that which He has been waiting to give you. Like Christ we must desire the Father. Out of our desire for the Father we too will become Dragon Slayers like Christ.

The Dragon is real, the battles are fierce and they have an eternal impact. The Father is real, His weapons are mighty and His victory is assured. Desire Him!

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
- James 4:8

Signed,
Dragon Slayer