Lions and Giants and Bears, Oh My!

Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath, and how the teenage shepherd boy killed the 9-foot-tall giant with just a sling and a single stone. But what many people forget, or never even notice, is that one of the reasons that David was so confident going into the epic battle with Goliath is because God had already helped him kill a lion and a bear with his own hands. After that, David knew, Goliath would be a piece of cake.

In 1 Samuel 17:34-36, David tells Saul, "When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 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. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; (Goliath) will be like one of them ...."

David knew he would kill Goliath, because God had already helped him to kill a lion and a bear. God had given him supernatural strength twice before, in a pair of life-threatening situations, and David knew that God would come through for him again.

It's the same for us. God puts "lions" and "bears" in our own lives - seemingly insurmountable problems or challenges that threaten to chew us up and spit us out. But then we see how God miraculously intervenes for us, and He slays the "lion" or the "bear" in our lives. Many times God does this because He knows that an even bigger "bear" or "lion" is lurking right around the corner - just like Goliath - and He wants us to know that we can trust Him and have faith in Him and know that He will supernaturally intervene, even as the "lion" or "bear" is ready to attack us.

We must have faith in God, even when the challenge in life - the "lion" or the "bear" - is very great.