Be like the hippo!

Be like the hippo! Open your mouth and crush the head of the enemy!

Yesterday, I was utterly exhausted after a very long, challenging, and emotional two weeks. We traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, and went hard for 11 days, traveling throughout Kenya and into Tanzania with very little sleep. Thursday and Friday, we traveled home, which took about 30 hours, and upon arriving home, we jumped right back into the flow of life and ministry. Monday evening, extreme exhaustion and fatigue hit me hard. It was early evening, I had been on the phone with my mother and felt so extremely tired that it forced me to lie down for a few minutes. I took a 30-minute nap, and when I woke up, it felt like a pack of lions had jumped on me and were trying to rip me apart emotionally and physically. I believe I was so extremely tired and exhausted from lack of sleep and rest that I became vulnerable and easy prey for the powers of darkness. On our journey back home from Africa, I had gone 48 hours on 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I thought I was doing fine, but I realized that I desperately needed rest. What I experienced next was so intense…

When I awakened from my nap, demonic lies were flooding my mind with stunning force that overwhelmed and frightened me. Accusation, condemnation, and rejection, along with feelings of hopelessness and despair, seem to be coming at me from every direction. It felt like a fierce battle was raging in my mind, and I was too weak to fight it. This firestorm of demonic, rapid-fire against my mind and emotions completely caught me off guard. It was as if the enemy of my soul was waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump on me like a pack of lions going after a weakened victim. Once I realized what was going on, I was able to shake off the heaviness, expel and drive out these demonic forces, proclaim the power of the blood of Jesus, and overcome by the word of my testimony. God’s word is my testimony, and what He says and what He has done is final authority. Every demon has to bow to the name of Jesus. No demon can cross over the bloodline of Jesus. The word of God demolishes every lie, accusation, condemnation, and every strategy of the enemy.

This morning, in my prayer closet, the Lord reminded me of the African hippo. Interestingly, the hippo is possibly the strongest and most dangerous animal one can face. Some interesting facts about the hippo is, first of all, they are huge, massive creatures. A hippo can charge and crush you under its feet. Secondly, the hippo’s jaws are so incredibly powerful that it can crush the head of its attacker with its mouth. Thirdly, the hippo’s skin or hide is so thick that it is very difficult for a predator, like a lion, to pierce, break, or penetrate. I have seen video footage of a pack of lions jumping on a hippo, trying to bring it down by biting, clawing, and together attacking to draw blood, pierce, and penetrate the hippo’s hide in order to devour it. These female lions had to all join in together at one time to try to bring the hippo down. It was a stunning site to see the hippo turn and face its attacker, taking a lioness’s head in its mouth and crushing its skull as it tried to attack. That’s right, the lion was seeking whom she could devour.  Yet, the hippo prevailed over the lioness by opening its mouth wide and crushing the lion’s head with his powerful jaws. So this morning, the Lord reminded me of the hippo and the pack of lions. This is a picture of what the enemy tries to do to us. 

The spirit realm is very real, and anyone who does not recognize this will be destroyed. Enemy forces join together to come after you and me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump on you and take you down. This is why 1 Peter 5:8-9 warns us to be alert, to be awake, to be watching because the enemy is always prowling, waiting, and watching for the perfect opportunity to jump on you and take you down, like the pack of lions watching, waiting, and encircling the hippo. The hippo that does not fight back will eventually be devoured. The hippo must rise up against its attackers and fight back with its powerful jaws to destroy its attackers. I know I’m not the only one who has had vulnerable and weak moments, has had the powers of darkness encircle me and jump on me, attacking me fiercely with condemning, accusatory, defeating, demonic thoughts and lies in order to bring me down. The only way to overcome is to rise up, resist the lies, run to Jesus, and open wide, your powerful mouth! 

You are overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony. Open wide your powerful, devil, crushing jaws, and use them against your enemy to silence the enemy and the avenger. Your jaws, your mouth, is a Satan, defeating, devil, destroying, a powerful weapon when you open it and fill it with praise and thanksgiving. When you open your demon-defeating mouth and proclaim the word of God, in the authority of His name, you will drive out and defeat the enemy forces that have come to kill, steal, and destroy. 

So the next time you feel the forces of darkness surrounding you and brutally attacking you with thoughts of doubt, fear, unbelief, condemnation, and darkness, open wide your powerful mouth and overcome with your shouts of praise and prophetic decrees. God’s word in your mouth demolishes the plans of the enemy. Be like the hippo! 

The video commentator or narrator said this lioness attacked a hippo and was fatally wounded when the hippo crushed its skull. The lion did not die immediately but went away and died shortly after. 
The narrator said the death of this lion was a fierce reminder to the entire pride that they better think twice before attacking a hippo.

Pastor Kelly