HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
“And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:” (1 Samuel 17:34).
It is a source of inspiration and strength to come in touch with the youthful David, trusting God. Through faith in God, he conquered a lion and a bear and afterwards overthrew the mighty Goliath. When that lion came to despoil that flock, it came as a wondrous opportunity to David. If he had failed or faltered he would have missed God’s opportunity for him and probably would never have come to be God’s chosen king of Israel. “And there came a lion.”
One would not think that a lion was a special blessing from God; one would think that only an occasion of alarm. The lion was God’s opportunity in disguise. Every difficulty that presents itself to us, if we receive it in the right way, is God’s opportunity. Every temptation that comes is God’s opportunity.
When the “lion” comes, recognize it as God’s opportunity no matter how rough the exterior. The very tabernacle of God was covered with badgers’ skins and goats’ hair; one would not think there would be any glory there. The Shekinah of God was manifest under that kind of covering. May God open our eyes to see Him, whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes.
God was testing the strength of David to see if he was in a position to lead Israel. It was a test of his character when the lion invaded the flock. You see, brethren, that God comes to us in many different ways and you do not run from the reality. You were placed in a position to watch over the flock of God and in this case David over the flock of sheep. The test of a good leader is to be a good watchman. This was the job of David and nothing was getting between him and the flock. David did not run and had he done that the lion would have destroyed the defenceless flock. There is where David saw the blessings of God and seized the opportunity to prove to his father and the world the type of leadership, character and skills he had as a Leader/Shepherd. It was a test from God building character.
