Plot Summary:

Hundreds of years after Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy’s time in Narnia the Telmarines invaded and conquered Narnia, causing the few talking animals who remained to live in hiding. The children were summoned to help restore Narnia. Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne, rallied the Narnians against the King and his forces, while Aslan reawakened the trees. The Telmarines were defeated, Prince Caspian was crowned as King, and Narnia was returned to the talking animals.

Honestly, if I were to rank each book in this series, I would usually say that this one would be my least favorite. While there are some things I love about it, overall it doesn’t resonate with me as much as the others. That said, my least favorite Chronicle is still a C.S. Lewis book, so there is much to be gained from it!

The first theme that stood out to me during this reading seems especially relevant to our context: when waiting on God to accomplish something, we are not to take matters into our own hands when God hasn’t acted on our timeline. Caspian had blown Susan’s horn which brought the children into Narnia, but in the time it took for them to find Caspian and the old Narnians, one of the dwarfs got impatient and recruited a hag and werewolf to try to call up the White Witch to defeat the Telmarines.

There is nothing wrong with praying and working for deliverance from a tyrant – but the danger of making something even as good as deliverance and freedom to be the focus is that when God doesn’t do it on our timeline, it is all too easy to pursue that good end in evil ways and to ultimately be hardened against God.

Though what I deal with day-to-day is nowhere near as serious as living under a tyrant's rule, this tendency is still something I have to constantly guard against in myself. When praying for good things, even things that seem to be promised by God, I need to be intentional about shifting my focus back to Him, not allowing disappointment to harden me against Him. Even if the worst happens, will God be enough or will I desire His gifts more than Him?

Believing is Seeing

Of course the typical saying is “seeing is believing” – but in many cases, we need to have belief (even if only a little) to be able to grasp spiritual truths.

When Aslan first appears in this book, only Lucy can see him, and the others don’t believe her. She eventually has to wake them up in the middle of the night to follow Aslan (whom they still can’t see) but during the walk, they eventually all see him (Edmund, who believed Lucy more, saw Aslan sooner than the others).

Our ability to apprehend spiritual realities can be affected by any number of things – in the childrens’ case, fear, exhaustion and skepticism blinded them to the reality of Aslan’s guidance in that moment.

Trumpkin the dwarf approached the idea of Aslan’s existence with cheerful skepticism. Aslan’s encounter with him was simultaneously playful and powerful, just what he needed in that moment to produce the appropriate fear and humility.

When Susan, who had been the nastiest to Lucy, met Aslan, he was tender with her, saying that she had listened to fears, and then he breathed strength into her and restored her.

I always loved Lucy and wanted to be like her – she was brave and valiant, pure in heart and seemed to be closest to Aslan. But in reality, I am much more often like Susan, listening to fears, letting them cloud my vision. But God still meets me there. His tenderness in those moments helps to draw me out of my fears and be more fully rooted in His love.

Questions to Ponder:

What themes or ideas stood out to you as you read?

What are some good things that you are prone to pursue in the wrong way, and how has that affected you?

How have you seen God meet you in your weaknesses or fears?

Comment below or contact me – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Next in the series will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader