Lesson 149: The Bear

Kentucky Chaplain David Chaltas

There is a delightful little story that a friend gave me that I call simply The Bear. But there is a lesson in life that underlies the tale. As you ponder the story, think of the moral. An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals! How they must have gone through such evolution to obtain such grandeur!" he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw an eight-foot grizzly looking him straight in the eye. As he started to yield ground, to his horror, the bear charged towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. Just as the bear was about to overrun him, he tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the atheist cried out: "Oh my God help me!" Immediately time stood still. The bear froze. The forest was silent. An intense bright light shone upon the man, as a voice came out of the sky: "You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don't exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?" The atheist looked directly into the light squinting, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask to be treated as a Christian now, but perhaps could you make the BEAR a Christian?"

“Very well," said the voice. The light went out and the scenes and sounds of the forest resumed. Immediately the bear dropped to his knees, brought both paws together and bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, bless this food, which I am about to receive!”

The atheist had his ‘want’ message met but not his need message! Sometimes we pray the selfish prayer and we must be careful for what we ask. Is it in our best interest? Is it a deceitful request or pure in nature. Our God is above reproach when it comes to sin. He is the Creator of light. He will only grant earnest petitions that meet the needs according to His goodness and mercy.

When we petition our wondrous Lord, do we ask for what we want or seek what we need? The Bible states in Philippians 4:19 that, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory. Does not the Lord meet the needs of the sparrows? Will He not meet your needs according to His riches? I do believe that He is the one and only God of miracles. I do believe that He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. I do believe that he meets our needs but questions our wants and desires. I do believe that we will have life and have it more abundantly, as we seek God’s guidance. What is your need? What is your desire? Does the ‘wishes’ of this life ever interfere with your needs? Sometimes we are so busy looking at the desires that we do not see that the needs are being richly blessed. Where do your treasures lie this day? What are your true needs versus your desires and wants? One of the greatest lessons that we can learn in life is that our needs WILL be met if we in earnest, humbly, petition our Christ to intercede on our behalf. After all, is that not what our Redeemer does? Rejoicing this day in the knowledge that all my needs will be met, I remain your obedient servant, The Old General