Four days ago, my siblings and I watched The Lion King: Live Action in the cinema. It’s a childhood Disney favourite of mine, and this movie was a remake of the original animation. I was excited, nostalgic and couldn’t help but sing along to some of the songs. But as I watched, I couldn’t help but see how different scenes are parallel to the struggles we face in our Christian journey. Here are some thoughts that I would love to share with you all. You might relate to one or all of them.

1. Forgiven

In the opening scene, the well-known song Circle of Life begins to play, and you see all the animals making their way to Pride Rock for the christening of Simba, the new lion cub. A baboon named Rafiki marks Simba’s forehead and lifts him high for everyone to see. 

Simba is now a child, and we see him excited to know what it’s like to rule the Pride Lands. Mufasa (his father) teaches him about kingship. One of the rules that Simba is given is to avoid the Elephant graveyard. Unfortunately, Simba sees this as a restriction rather than for his protection and gets himself into trouble.

After disobeying his father by going to the Elephant graveyard, Scar convinces Simba that the only way to impress his dad is by the sound of his roar. Simba was desperate to please his dad and listened to Scar.

Mufasa had already forgiven Simba, but Simba still felt like he needed to do more. Often, we try to prove ourselves to God or that we’re worthy of His love. Before we could do anything, God sent Jesus Christ to pay the debt that we owed.  God proved his love for us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). 

Like Simba, who was hard on himself even though his father had already forgiven him. We can find ourselves doing the same thing. We pitch our tents and camp in condemnation, reminding ourselves of things that God has forgiven us of. 

Simba wanted to impress his father, and Scar could see this. Similarly, the enemy may lie to us that we need to do more, even after we’ve repented of our sins. There’s a temptation to trust in our righteousness rather than Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). We try to clean ourselves, perform more good deeds, or offer up sacrifices when Christ is the ultimate sacrifice. 

Hebrews 10:11-12
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. _¹² But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Jesus Christ was the only sacrifice that was needed to take away the sins of the world. It’s easy to forget that simple truth in an attempt to be righteous. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He said, “It is finished”. There is no further work that is needed other than to trust in the finished work of the cross and obey God.

Christ has made us white as snow (Isaiah 1:18), His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22), He has wiped our slate clean and remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12). 

Psalm 103:12 (CEV)
How far has the Lord taken our sins from us?
Farther than the distance from east to west!

The bible reassures us that God will forgive us when we confess and repent of our sins (1 John 1:8-9). In the moments when we still don’t feel forgiven, it could be for one or two reasons. Maybe we’re struggling to believe that we’re forgiven, or we’re struggling to receive His forgiveness.

2. Identity

Our identity in Christ is one of the areas the enemy tries to attack. I’ve gone through moments where I’ve questioned my identity in Christ. The temptation to find our identity in the world, in people, or to figure out who we are outside of Christ will only bring more confusion.  

After the tragic death of his father, Scar instructs Simba to “run away and never return”. Simba obeys without knowing that his uncle is after the throne. He meets Timone (meerkat) and Pumba (warthog), who teach them their ways, and soon all his worries disappear. Hakuna matata. 

Years pass, and Simba has grown up. His childhood friend Nala finds him and wants him to come home. Nala is unaware of Simba’s past and is frustrated at Simba’s unwillingness to reclaim his throne. After all, he is the child of Mufasa and the rightful heir. She didn’t understand what the big deal was. 

The same night, Rafiki leads him through the jungle and asks him a question “Do you know who you are?” Simba is honest and replies, “I thought I knew who I was”. The same question that Rafiki asked Simba is still applicable today. 

Do you know who (or whose) you are? 
Do you know that you are a child of God?

Sometimes, when God speaks to us in His word or has given us a personal revelation, the enemy comes to test that word. The word that should have been treasured in our hearts, we unknowingly throw the truth away.

In Matthew 3, Jesus was announced as the Son of God when he was baptised. And yet, the devil questions him in the wilderness, “If you are the Son of God…”, in the following chapter. Like seriously, only one chapter later, and the devil already wants to plant seeds of unbelief. 

Most of us (including me) would have fallen into that trap. If we can be honest, if we were in the wilderness and the enemy questioned our identity, we would have turned those stones into bread. Instead of responding with God’s word (which has authority and power), we give in to the bait of the enemy. Jesus didn’t go back and forth having a conversation with the devil. He responded with “It is written”. 

Scar knew that Simba was Mufasa’s son. Rafiki knew that Simba was Mufasa’s son. Nala knew that Simba was the son of the King. However, Simba needed to come to that realisation for himself. 

Similarly, God knows who we are, and the enemy knows who we are, but sometimes we don’t. No matter how many sermons we listen to at church, or how many times we read the bible, it won’t make a difference until we believe it for ourselves.

3. Condemnation

When Simba returns to claim the throne, Scar brings up the death of Simba’s father to turn others against him. This is what the enemy does, and he does it very well. The enemy will bring up our past, whether it was a mistake that was made, an addiction we’ve struggled with, or sins that God has already forgiven us of – Satan is called the accuser for a reason (Revelation 12:10).

Revelations 12:11
And they have conquered him [devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

It tells us that they overcame the devil and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus covers us and through him, we are holy and blameless (Colossians 1:21-22). And also by the word of their testimony. Our testimony is powerful, and it shows people the transformative power of God. It points to Jesus, who saves and delivers.

The enemy won’t stop bringing up charges against us. He does this to keep us in bondage. But his end is sure. And until we know and believe the word, we will run away just like Simba, instead of standing firm in Christ. Every time the devil came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he responded with “It is written”. The same goes for us.

For example,
When the enemy wants to condemn us for our past. Romans 8:1 (NKJV) says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

In the moments where we doubt our salvation, remember Romans 10:9-10, “…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”

People may remind us of who we used to be, meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:17, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’

The bible doesn’t tell us that we should be ignorant of our past. Sin does have its consequences. But we also shouldn’t be ignorant of God’s word, the strategies of the enemy, or our future as children of God. If we don’t know the truth, we will always believe a lie. 

Until we know how to use the word of God, which is a sword in our spiritual armour (Eph 6:17), we are always going to be defeated. Our victory is found in Jesus Christ. He defeated the devil, death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55), and He has given us authority over the powers of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

Final encouragement

I have so many scenes that I could write. However, this one was my favourite. It was when Simba looked up in the night sky and heard the voice of his father. Mufasa reaffirmed his son’s identity, and Rafiki told Simba that his father’s spirit lives inside.

The same way that God has promised, that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:8). We are not alone (even when we feel like we are). We have the Holy Spirit, the Helper, dwelling inside of us. He’s the one who convicts, teaches, comforts and guides us in our journey.

God bless,
Susan.