Just before David stepped out to meet Goliath, he told Saul that the God who had saved him from the paws of lions and bears would save him from the hand of this Philistine. Lions. Bears. Claws. Fangs. Roars. Growls. Noises in the night portending danger. These were the stories of occupational hazards. These were the stories of God's deliverance.
I want God's deliverance to mean I don't ever encounter any lions or bears. I want the promise that God will be with me to mean I don't really need God to be with me. I want the promise to mean Natalie and Aaron arrive safely and comfortably in Afghanistan. I want the promise to mean all kinds of things EXCEPT flesh and blood encounters with enemies, with danger, cold, fear, loneliness, loss, pain. For myself and for those I love.
But, if God had kept the bears and lions away; if He'd drawn a radius of protection around David such that trouble never actually troubled him, then what? Likely David wouldn't have known that God had saved him, wouldn't have been able to look Goliath in the face and say with confidence, "He did it before; He'll do it again."
