Facing the lions and the bears before facing the Goliaths
It says in 1 Samuel 17: 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
The story of David and Goliath is well known. It speaks of victory and that with God on our side we can triumph even when the days are at its darkest. We often forget what transpired in David’s life before he slew the giant. He tells Saul about his exploits of killing a lion and bear. He mentions such achievements because he knew it was important. What we need to realise is that if David could not have slain the bear or the lion, there was no way he could slay the ‘uncircumcised Philistine’. David had to be TRAINED and PREPARED for battle, and for each one in our lives this principle still applies. If we wish to grow deeper and higher spiritually, achieving greater exploits for God, it is a matter of undergoing numerous trials for us to be trained and prepared.
Preparation speaks of progression. Progression speaks of growing in spiritual maturity, and with such maturity comes greater victories, conquests and triumphs to the glory of God. Revelation 12:11 says that they (the saints of God facing great perils, dangers and threats, especially at the hand of the devil) “triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” If we remain obedient, then every step of preparation becomes a step of victory, and serves as a testimony of God’s greatness, goodness and majesty! Every step takes us deeper into God’s presence, deeper into His will, deeper in our understanding of the Kingdom and deeper in our faith. When David spoke to the king about his exploits, it was a testimony of God’s power and might! God’s preparation accumulates into a testimony, and it bolsters our faith to know we are more than conquerors, and with God, all things are indeed possible! But we need to yield to God as the clay yields to the touch of the Potter.
David was a boy, about 14 years old when the giant opposed the army of Israel. Of course, Saul was going to frown upon David’s request to go and fight Goliath. What audacity from the lad! But he failed to realise what God has already done in David’s life. God has been preparing David for a moment like this. Saul had to realise that if God can deliver a lion and bear into David’s hands while he is protecting his flock, surely God would deliver Goliath to protect all of Israel.
The lion and bear were not as large a problem as Goliath. The bear would only kill one sheep at a time, haul it off to a cave and enjoy his feast. The lion is pretty much the same. The lion and bear were not as big a threat as Goliath. The Bible does not mention them, but most likely before David even slaw the bear and the lion he killed plenty of ‘smaller threats’ such as coyotes, wolves, foxes and other dangerous creatures. Encounters with these types of predators would be a near-everyday experience for a shepherd. God would have trained and prepared David to slay the lion and the bear, just as He prepared him to slay Goliath. It was because of the preparation that David’s faith in God grew daily because of his experiences protecting the sheep. And yes, with faith in God all things are possible!
When facing Goliath, David did not yet know his life will turn out. He would not have realised that God was preparing him to reign as a mighty king. And during his days as a king, he faced numerous “threats” and “dangers” from all sorts of enemies, including Saul and even his own children! He also had to battle his inner demons, especially after lusting after Bathsheba resulting in him indirectly killing her husband Uriah. God had prepared David every step of the way before taking up the throne, which included killing a bear and a lion, and then eventually Goliath.
David, therefore, uses the lion and the bear as a major thrust of his argument, encouraging King Saul to allow him to fight the Philistines. David’s faith had some experience behind it. We all face our bears and lions, even our coyotes and wolves, therefore, problems not as life-changing as our Goliaths but problems that need dealing with almost daily. If we don’t defeat the coyotes and then the bears and the lions, how can we possibly beat Goliath? And if we cannot defeat Goliath, how can we truly reign as a child of God? After all, we are all called to be kings and priests (Revelation 1:6) in His Kingdom, taking up authority to fulfil the Great Commission and piercing the darkness in the light of His glory.
We need to allow God to continually train and prepare us. Just as a soldier needs to be prepared for war at all times, we need to also remain active in the basics of Christianity, such as practising faith, praying without ceasing, and spending time with God. If we fail to submit to His guidance, wisdom, and discipline how can we defeat the lion or the bear? We can’t and then winning over Goliath will be impossible. Reigning as triumphant children of a mighty God also becomes a struggle.
As in all things, God’s ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This is the goal of the Christian, and everything in life, including the trials and tribulations, is designed to enable us to reach that goal. And in the process, there is constant refinement, purging, and perpetration for us to progress and become more like Christ. It is part of the process of sanctification, being set apart for God’s purposes and fitted to live for His glory. The way trials accomplish this is explained in 1 Peter 1:6-7: "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The true believer’s faith will be made sure by the trials we experience so that we can rest in the knowledge that God is indeed faithful and true to His Word.
Trials is part of our preparations to develop godly character, for character allows us to stand in the storms and in the days of great evil. Such character enables us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5). Preparation to overcome leads to perseverance to endure the race set before us. It says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." We can indeed do all things, but we need faith, and faith is built over time. Just ask David who had the faith to slay Goliath because he saw God in action when slaying the lion and the bear.
I remember quite a while ago the Lord said so many are never prepared for what the Lord has called them for and so many are never prepared for the calling God has placed on their lives. For as Paul spoke to Timothy to be prepared in and out of season, so we must be PREPARED and READY in and out of season for our calling, our mandate and what God has spoken over us. Yet so many are never ready, they are never prepared, for they are distracted, busy with their plans and agendas. There must be a singular focus, a singular intent, intense preparation and an intense readiness to be ready to walk in God’s calling. As we continue to conquer in God’s grace and might, God will lead us deeper and higher spiritually to conquer and triumph over darkness and foe. A soldier ill-prepared cannot battle, just so we must be ready for what God has called us to do and do exactly that as God commands in faith!
Mark 1 says, “16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.” Just as Zebedee and John needed to prepare their nets to catch fish, we need to be constantly prepared and trained by Christ to fish for men! We cannot ‘catch’ anything if we have not prepared our ‘nets’. This calls for continued submission and yielding to the Lord. We need to continually “follow”, and we need to listen and trust. We must not always run away from the lion and the bear, but face our threats and learn from it.
Indeed the true Bride needs to be fully prepared, trained, equipped and empowered to stand in perilous times. The Lord is calling for sons and daughters who seek no recognition, award, reward, praise or applause. For they are like John the Baptist, eager, hungry, willing and ready to serve. They have a true heart of the Kingdom, and as they are prepared for works of service (also read Ephesians 4) for they shall then prepare the way of the Lord. Yes, they shall make straight the paths of the Lord! For as John the Baptist was prepared for a moment and time to make straight the path of the Lord’s coming, so we must always be ready and willing to be obedient as we grow in the fullness of Christ.
For us to walk in boldness, in faith and confidence in such perilous times, thus not in fear, doubt, anxiety and confusion in the face of persecution, we need to be established in the Word, thus be established in Christ Jesus who is the Word (John 1, 1 John 1). Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, our hope and life. He is the Rock on which we must build our lives (John 15, Matthew 7:24-27). The word 'settle' in Greek is ‘Themelioo’, which means to lay the foundation. We can only be settled in our faith, in our thoughts and our hope if we are building upon the foundation of Jesus, thus we have to meditate upon Him by meditating upon the Word.
Ephesians 3 says, “20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Yes, we serve a great God, but we need to walk in faith. We can defeat the lion, the bear and the Goliaths for we serve El Gibbor (the mighty God), yet we need to always allow God to mould us, train us and ultimately prepare us for any fight that comes our way! Psalm 144 says, “Psalm 144: 1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. 2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”
As we lean upon God, trusting in His power to vanquish the perils at night and the terrors by day (read Psalm 91), we stand upon “John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” David knew about “doing greater works”, for he remained faithful to God in all seasons. Let us then not dismiss the lessons God places on our path, or the lion or the bear that comes to devour. As we learn we grow, as we train we grow stronger, and as we prepare like a good soldier we shall stand tall amid the battle. Let us keep our eyes upon Christ, for He is the hope of glory and truly the battle belongs to Him!
