My fifteen-year-old son and I were sitting at a stoplight on Kingshighway, just south of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis in September of 2020. I had been here many times as I drove to make hospital visits at the sprawling medical center we were approaching. 

In this area it had always felt to me that too many cars were trying to rush and push their way into a very crowded space. When I added trying to anticipate which lane to be in and worries about where I would park, this part of the trip had always made me extremely tense. I have lived most of my life in small towns in southeast Missouri, and this area caused feelings that were much more intense than the carefree times of cruising the town square in my hometown.

But today felt weirdly different, and Benjamin was the first to remark about it. “Dad, this traffic seems like nothing.” Just moments before I had been struck with the same feeling. We were in the exact situation that had been so stressful so many times before, but on that day it seemed like nothing. Something had changed our perspective on the situation. 

That something is Houston, Texas. Our family had spent eight weeks there just a few months before, while I was having successful treatment for prostate cancer. We had never had daily experience with traffic on that level. No matter how far I was going, I felt like I had to fight an epic battle for every inch of highway I traveled there. Thankfully, surprisingly, and carefully, we were able to successfully navigate in, around, and finally out of Houston with no damage to us or our vehicles or any of the thousands that were around us. 

After Houston, Kingshighway in St. Louis felt like nothing. Even Benjamin noticed it from the passenger seat. 

The situation reminds me of a quote from David in 1 Samuel 17:34-37, immediately before he went to battle the nine-foot giant, Goliath.

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 

³⁵I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 

³⁶Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 

³⁷And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (ESV)

When David was a shepherd boy, God had a divine plan that he would grow to be the leader of Judah and Israel. This is where my plan would differ from God’s. In my plan, I would not risk the life of my chosen king by allowing a lion and a bear to threaten him. He must be protected at all costs. 

God’s plan for David was not for protection from danger, but it was for deliverance through hardship. I want God to keep me from trials in my life, but He wants to prove to me that He will deliver me through times I am not sure I can endure. 

For David, that deliverance was also preparation. it gave him faith to depend on God as a young boy when he went to battle against a giant that caused the seasoned warriors of Israel to cower. God used the lion and the bear to grow character in David that would be needed as a leading warrior of Judah and eventually as the king.

That is how God works in our lives. The traffic of Houston made a previously stressful situation seem routine. The lion and bear that David faced led to growth he would need in his battle with Goliath. The hardship that you are in, or will go through in your future, is not a sign that God has abandoned you, but a part of His plan to lead you to growth in character and faith.

At the risk of sounding like a preacher, God will use your test to give you a testimony…and to prepare you for another test. Joy comes from knowing that when each battle is over, you will know that He was with you and that He delivered you. 

About the Author: Greg Stevens serves as Associate Pastor at Liberty Hill General Baptist Church in Dexter, MO. He loves being a husband to Penny and father to Benjamin and Sarah who are 18 and 10.