1 Samuel 17:36 (NKJV)
“Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
For as long as I can remember, one of my prayers has been “Lord, if I’m going to come to a time where I am going to deny you, take me early, before I get there”. You may think I’m crazy, but I am very conscious of the fact that I don’t know my own heart. I am
aware that my faith has never been tested like those in other countries where persecution is rampant and I don’t want to ever deny the Lord. I have no presumption that says “I’ve got this”.
One confidence I do have is that The Lord will never give us more than we can handle. So it dawned on me this week that my longtime prayer might just be a cop-out. Think about it. Basically, I was asking God to never put me in a situation where I might fail Him. How ridiculous. I thought of David. When he met Goliath, he didn’t stutter or falter. He had seen how The Lord was with him when he faced the lion and the bear. He didn’t have any doubt that God would help him when he faced a larger enemy.
It was experience with the lion that prepared David for the bear. The bear prepared him for Goliath and Goliath prepared him for what was next. Each challenge prepared him for the next one, then the next one and then the next one.
So what challenge am I accepting today that will prepare me for tomorrow’s challenge? Where am I seeing God’s faithfulness? Where am I seeing His sovereignty? Where am I stepping out in faith and seeing Him be God? Am I willing to step up? Am I willing to speak up?
I’m not looking for trouble but I also don’t want to run from it. I want to be like David who trusted God at every step and because he did, was prepared for all the subsequent opportunities and challenges that followed.
Do you want that too? I hope you do. Let’s take advantage of every opportunity God gives us to be ready for what’s next. Think of it as practice for the big game. Practice doesn’t always guarantee success but I’m pretty sure no practice guarantees failure. Let’s identify with Christ in all areas of our lives. Include Him in our choices and activities. Speak of Him with friends and strangers. Let’s see what God will do today and trust Him that we will be ready for what He’ll bring tomorrow. Practice today. Then practice tomorrow. Practice, practice, practice. Practice prepares us. Practice makes perfect.