Have any of you seen the live-action The Lion King? I was amazed by how realistic it looked. The CGI animation felt so real and the behavior of the animals reminded me of my pets.

While watching The Lion King, I couldn’t help but take away a few life lessons from the film. Simba’s story reminded me of stories from the bible. Here are 5 lessons I learned from the film:

**(If you haven’t seen The Lion King or don’t know the story of The Lion King, I would skip this post.Warning: this post will have spoilers)**

1. Simba Made Mistakes and Still Didn’t Ruin His Purpose

Simba was a rebellious little cub. He was called to be the next king and his father was preparing him for that. Yet, even though Simba was so excited to be king, he still wanted to have fun and do whatever he wanted. He would lie to his parents, go places he wasn’t supposed to, and he put himself in danger. This reminded me of Samson’s story in Judges 13-16. Samson’s purpose was to defeat the Philistines. He wasn’t allowed to cut his hair, eat unclean food, or touch dead things. Yet, he broke all of those rules and even married a Philistine woman.

But did this ruin Samson’s chance of fulfilling his purpose? No. It only prepared him for his purpose. God used Samson’s mistakes to fufill Samson’s destiny.

Even though Samson married a Philistine woman, Judges 14:14 stated, “[Samson’s] father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.”

Just like God did for Samson and Simba, our good and bad decisions will prepare us for our purpose.

2. Simba’s Enemies Tried to Kill Him and That Still Didn’t Ruin His Purpose

In The Lion King, Simba’s uncle, Scar, wanted to be king and was jealous that his nephew, Simba, would be the next king. So Scar saught out to kill Simba. This reminded me of Genesis 37.

Joseph had a dream that he would be king one day and his brothers and parents would bow down to him. His brothers were already jealous and didn’t like him and this made them despise Joseph even more. So one day, Joseph’s brothers found an opportunity to kill Joseph, but instead, they sold him into slavery. If you’re familiar with the story, Joseph ends up growing up and becoming a ruler in Egypt, second to the king. And his brothers and parents do end up bowing down to him.

Although, Joseph’s enemies tried to harm him, God protected Joseph and still used what happened to him to prepare him for his purpose.

Another lesson that can be taken from this: Joseph started in slavery. He served before he rose up to be king. Same with Simba. Simba lived with his prey. Ate like them and protected them from harm until he rose up to be king. Most of the time we have to serve others before we can progress to where we want to be.

3. Simba Ran Away and That Still Didn’t Ruin His Purpose

After Simba witnessed his father die, Scar convinced Simba that it was Simba’s fault that his father died. Scar convinced Simba to run away and with guilt in his heart, Simba ran away from home and never looked back. He found himself unworthy to be king. Does this sound familiar? Simba thought he could run away from his purpose just like Jonah from the bible thought he could run away from his purpose.

Not only did Simba try to run away from being king, it actually benefited him and prepared him to be king. Jonah’s journey at hiding from God caused him to get swallowed by a whale. Jonah’s mistake caused him to have a testimony that he was able to share with Ninevah. It helped jonah fulfill his purpose.

4. “Hakuna Matata”

I think the majority of us know this phrase, there’s a whole song about it. It means, “No worries”.

There are many verses in the bible that states for us not to worry. One of my favorite verses is Joshua 1:9–“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Here are a couple of more encouraging verses about worrying:

“Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬. (I wrote a blog post about this scripture. Click here to read).

5. Remember Who You Are

And finally, remember who you are. Remember who you are in Christ. Remember your identity in Christ. Simba allowed his past mistakes to define him, but he was more than the mistakes he has made. Simba was a king. And you, reader, are a child of God. He died so you may live. He sacrifices himself for you.

So remember who you are.

Don’t allow our failures, guilt, or sin to destroy you. Remember who you are. You are a child of the One True King. He chose you specifically to be His ambassador here on earth. You have a destiny. You have a calling. You have a purpose. You’re free. So start acting like it.

“So I will ask again. Who are you?”