The Lion and the Bear

An awareness of prior miracles we have experienced can strengthen our faith to meet new challenges.

When David saw his compatriots cowering before the giant Goliath, he was perplexed and disappointed. As he explained to King Saul, he had no doubt that he could defeat the giant with God’s help:

Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him….

The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:34-35, 37

Many years later, as Nephi conferred with his brothers outside the wall of Jerusalem, he offered similar rationale for his optimism. They were terrified of Laban, who had twice tried to kill them. Nephi reminded them of miracles experienced by their ancestors:

Let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea….

Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

1 Nephi 4:2-3

President Russell M. Nelson has encouraged us to look to those same precedents as we seek for miracles in our lives:

[The Lord] parted the Red Sea for Moses, helped Nephi retrieve the brass plates, and restored His Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith…. In the same way, the Lord will bless you with miracles if you believe in Him, “doubting nothing….” Few things will accelerate your spiritual momentum more than realizing the Lord is helping you to move a mountain in your life.

“The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” General Conference, April 2022

Today, I will remember the miracles I and others have experienced as we have trusted the Lord. I will move forward with faith, knowing that God can help me overcome every challenge I face.