Tsavo lions

I just watched one of my favourite movies "The ghost and the darkness". Based on a true story it takes place in the late 1800's when the British empire was competing with other countries to project their power and influence into the dark continent. Along with the spread of the Empire they were ending slavery and spreading Christianity into Africa.

The movie tells the story of a railway bridge that is being constructed over the river Tsavo in East Africa. It's a pretty straightforward project until two male lions began killing the men who worked on the bridge.

The lions behaved in ways so unusual that the workers believed they were evil spirits. These maneless lions would come at night and seemingly at random, grab some poor soul and drag him screaming out of his tent and off into the darkness.

Under normal circumstances male lions don't usually hunt, they fight and eat while the female lions hunt. But these male lions were hunting and not just for food, they seemed to be doing it for sport. The movie offers no explanation for their unlikely behaviour but it's possible that the belief that there was a spiritual explanation might not be entirely ridiculous.

What if they were being used to try and prevent the bridge from being built and the spread of Christianity? We know that there are regional spiritual powers. Daniel 10:13 And they could possess two lions as easily as a herd of swine. I wouldn't put it past them.

The amount of effort and loss that was required to deal with these two lions and build the bridge all makes me wonder... when we run into obstacles how do we know if we're supposed to persevere or go and do something somewhere else.

They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas. - Acts 16:6-8

And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. - Matthew 16:18

How do I know if I'm up against a door that God has closed or a door that Satan is trying to bar that we're supposed to break down?