A View from Inside the Bear

I have a good friend who frequently uses some "pithy" sayings. One of them was, "Lord, if you don't help me, please don't help that bear."

Another one of his little sayings was, "some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you."

Ever had a day when the bear ate you? I know it's not very spiritual but I've had my share of those days and the view from inside the bear really isn't something to write home about. But……it happens. And when it happens we need to know how to handle it.

I’ve heard over and over that the most successful people in the world are the ones who have picked themselves up off the floor more than anyone else.

You have to pick yourself up; dust yourself off; learn from whatever caused you to be on the inside of that bear and make a commitment that this turn of events is not going to be permanent. It's temporary. There's another day coming. And we are going to do everything we can to make sure the outcome will be different. (There is probably another bear coming too so it’s a good thing to learn from this one.)

A few years ago I heard a great sermon on David and Goliath. The speaker talked about why David picked up five smooth stones. The Scriptures don't tell us why so we have to speculate a little bit. This speaker's take on the five smooth stones David picked up was that David was determined to finish off Goliath. It’s possible that even though David felt confident he could do the job with one stone, he picked up a few more stones just in case.

Not everything we try to accomplish happens on the first try. Sometimes we have to back up and take a second whack at it….or a third or a fourth or even a fifth. The key is not how many times we fail or fall but how many times get up or fight our way out from inside the bear.

Scriptures contain many examples of difficult circumstances being turned around to bring great victory. We need to read about the people of Israel staring into the Red Sea and noticing the cloud of dust behind them (Exodus 14); we need to read about King Hezekiah seeing the Assyrian army surrounding the city of Jerusalem and how the angel of the Lord swept through the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19). We need to be encouraged about how God provided for those who were facing difficult times because two things haven’t changed. One is that difficult times will come (Psalms 34:19; John 16:33); the second thing is that God has not changed (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He will do the same for you and me as He did for those in Scripture.

Finding your self inside the bear is no fun. I've had more of those days than I care to remember. However, I've learned from those days. I've learned how to make choices that help avoid those days; and I've learned how to fight through those days. I may be inside the bear but I'm going to give that bear a lot of indigestion before busting out!

How about you?

Always in Pursuit!