The Torch Of Prayer And God’s Word
July 26, 2024
It takes lions to build hearts
October 20, 2018
But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” - 1 SAMUEL 17:34-35
Young David had a master’s degree in lion-killing, credentials also for giant-slaying. Back at the sheep-fold, God was building a heart of courage into the feisty teenager so he could face giants later in his life. The battle with Goliath was David’s Ph.D. in heart courage, earned in a single afternoon.
You don’t get a strong heart without lions. David and all like him are schooled in the university of challenge, the school of hard knocks and the academy of quaking knees. If you’re being stretched currently, your heart is in learning mode.
If the lions are chasing you, in the words of James, “Consider it all joy… when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (JAMES 1:2-4) Don’t go chasing after the lions, but when they come recognize them as God’s means of building your heart and character.
TODAY’S FOCUS
Recognize that the quiet places where you struggle are opportunities for you to grow in Christ.
