Day 32 with David - The Lord may put you in a difficult situation in order to protect you.

“He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18:33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I have watched with awe, videos of mountain goats scaling or descending mountain shears, seemingly effortlessly. And, if that weren’t enough, I’ve seen them jumping from one “invisible” ledge to another!

From what I understand, among the characteristics making them able to do these awesome maneuvers are their agility, body structure, and good eyesight. However, the main feature that makes them able to do these amazing feats (you’ll discover that this is a pun), is their hooves. You see, rather than having flat hooves, their hooves are split into two parts, making them able to grab on to the smallest of protrusions in the rock face. Additionally, their hooves are rubbery, giving them traction. They also have—at the back of their hooves—what are similar to claws, used to help slow their descent when coming down the steep slopes.

So, obviously I love animals; and, watching this type of incredible behavior is thrilling, but also kind of scary. You see, the kids actually begin doing these climbing maneuvers at one to two days old! Even more fantastical than watching them make these maneuvers is the fact that they rarely fall. Generally, when they do fall, it’s males fighting each other during mating season. Also, the tiny kids may fall due to inexperience. However, in both of these cases, falling is still rare.

Now, whereas mountain goats might scale steep slopes in search of food (when food is scarce at lower levels), the main reason for their ability seems to be to protect them from predators. You see, most of the main predators of mountain goats—mountain lions, bobcats, wolves, coyotes, bears—dare not pursue them on the steep slopes; they are not equipped to do so without falling.

In our portion from Psalms today we see that David references the fact that the Lord has given him “deer’s feet.” No doubt he had seen goats traversing rocky cliffs, marveling, as do I, at their elegance. But notice, another thing that he points out is that the Lord had put him on these high places! Why had the Lord put him on these high, dangerous, places? Well, the inference is that the Lord had put him in these dangerous places to stop a pursuing “predator.”

I don’t think that many people would actually sign up to be in extremely dangerous places, literally or figuratively speaking, let alone to do so when being pursued by an enemy! But you see, that’s just it; the Lord may put us in treacherous situations—not to destroy us—but to preserve us! Additionally, if he puts us in a treacherous situation, He also equips us with the ability to navigate within it without falling or being destroyed.

When we find ourselves in situations that seem to be high, narrow, and severe—with the added element of being pursued by an enemy—we must understand that God may be doing this to protect us from a ravening wolf!

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

The Lord may put you in a difficult situation in order to protect you from your enemies; but He will also give you the ability to navigate it.

#100dayswithdavid