The Lion and the Bear

 Life is a growth process. Children grow as they eat, sleep, and play. The playing supplies the exercise for their bones and muscles to develop well. The more they grow, the more they are able to do, so the stronger they become. Also, they overcome small obstacles, which leads them to tackle larger obstacles with confidence. This same thing happens as we grow spiritually.

We know the account of David killing the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath. King Saul and the rest of the army did not have faith that the Lord would enable them to defeat him, so they cowered in fear. David was different. (I Samuel 17:37) David told the king that the Lord who saved him from the paw of the ion and the paw of the bear would save him from the hand of this Philistine. Saul was impressed, and told him to go ahead, and he prayed that the Lord would be with him.

We start out as baby Christians, when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, no matter how old we are at that time. God allows troubles to come, and He sends trials into our lives, so we will learn to trust Him to overcome them. When we trust Him, like David did with the lion and the bear, we grow in our faith, so we can win greater victories in the future. This is how we grow spiritually.

However, if we do not have faith to trust the Lord in the lesser challenges we won't grow in the Lord, as we should. Therefore, I ask each of us to look back and see if we can remember a lion we defeated by trusting in God's power. What was a bear we overcame as we trusted God? If you can't remember those experiences, chances are that you are not ready to face the giants now. Therefore, begin now to trust God in the little things to prepare you for future Goliaths.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 18-20.