Lions, and Giants, and Bears, Oh My!

Can you find the grizzly bear in the picture?

Look closely and trust me; that brown dot somewhere near the center of the photo is a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). Could the Latin name possibly be more appropriate? Several times, the beloved Swede has taken my children and me out hiking in bear country, and several times we’ve had the privilege of viewing grizzlies in the wild, separated only by distance. It’s the distance, however, that allowed our encounters to be memorable and thrilling as opposed to terrifying and lethal.

Another adventure with the Swede found us hiking in mountain lion country outside of San Diego, California. While my husband reviewed trail maps in the park ranger’s office, I asked the ranger on duty whether or not we really had to be concerned about encountering a lion. She shot me a look by which I’m sure she meant, “Honey, if you don’t know that the wilderness is really dangerous, you’re better off just getting back in your car and driving to Disneyland.” I believe she shared some horror stories about other hikers who hadn’t taken posted warnings seriously. I also believe she used the word mauled in several of those stories. As we hiked I found myself jumping at the sound of every crackling leaf or snapping twig, certain that a lion was stalking us and about to pounce at any moment. Helpful and encouraging as always, the Swede assured me, “It’s the ones you don’t hear. . .”

This week’s devotional reading brought me back to some of those adventures. My reading took me, once again, to the account of David and Goliath. With all the enthusiasm (and quite possibly an eye roll) of a bored teenager discovering his favorite TV show was airing a rerun, my first thought was, “Seriously, God? You want me to read this again?” I thought that such a familiar passage, which I had just read and written about, couldn’t possibly have anything new to say to me. Because I am nothing if not the tiniest little bit legalistic, however, and because I Samuel was the assigned reading for the day, I complied and read on. And these words grabbed my attention:

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, 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; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bar will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” I Samuel 17:34-37, NIV

The focus of the story, obviously, is David’s triumph over the Philistine giant. What had been lost on me in all my previous readings, however, was that David had also fought and killed lions and bears. Which, I have come to learn, are actually big, scary, bad things.

Having been in both lion and bear country, I began to wonder where David got the idea he had even a chance against either of these dangerous predators. I tried doing a little research to help me better describe just how deadly the claws of a mountain lion are, to illustrate how well-designed they are for tearing the flesh of an animal or person. I thought perhaps I could find some scientific description of how many pounds per square inch of force a grizzly bear uses when clamping his jaws down on a victim. Instead, I found this sentence: The relationship between grizzly bears and other predators is mostly one-sided. I think that gets at the heart of what I wanted to say. The lions and bears David confronted were not the cute cuddly ones illustrated in most children’s Sunday school lessons. And I thought to myself, “Either that David was just plain crazy, or he was one foolish mix of teenage bravado and testosterone.”

Or maybe David truly had such confidence in God’s ability to deliver him that he was unafraid to confront real dangers in the real world—lions, bears, even giants that presumed to defy the armies of the living God.

The claws of a lion and the jaws of a bear are not threats that confront me on a daily basis. However, I think it’s foolish to pretend that there aren’t real dangers in the real world, prowling about and seeking to harm mind, body, and soul of me and those whom I love. Real life is no walk in a Disney theme park. Like those in ancient Israel, I can stand on the sidelines in fear, refusing to engage those dangers, hoping they’ll just give up and go away. Or I can try dressing up in bubble wrap and armor, placing my trust in immunizations, airbags, rules, and procedures; hoping against hope that they will protect me and my loved ones and keep us safe.

Or maybe I place my confidence in the living God, look the very real dangers of this world squarely in the face, and echo David saying, “How dare you?”

Linking with Jen and the sisterhood:



And with emily in her sweet community of grace at imperfect prose: