February 23

"And there came a lion." (1 Sam. 17:34)

It is a source of inspiration and strength to come in touch with the youthful David, trusting God. Through faith in God he conquered a lion and a bear, and afterwards overthrew¹ the mighty² Goliath. When that lion came to despoil³ that flock, it came as a wondrous⁴ opportunity to David. If he had failed or faltered⁵ he would have missed God's opportunity for him and probably would never have come to be God's chosen king of Israel. "And there came a lion."

One would not think that a lion was a special blessing⁶ from God; one would think that only an occasion of alarm. The lion was God's opportunity in disguise. Every difficulty that presents itself to us, if we receive it in the right way, is God's opportunity. Every temptation that comes is God's opportunity.

When the "lion" comes, recognize it as God's opportunity no matter how rough the exterior⁷. The very tabernacle of God was covered with badgers⁸' skins and goats' hair; one would not think there would be any glory there. The Shekinah of God was manifest under that kind of covering. May God open our eyes to see Him, whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes. ━C. H. P.

二月二十三日

“有时来了狮子” （撒上十七：34）

　　读到年轻的戴维怎样信靠神，真能使我们得到鼓励和力量。藉着信心，他胜过狮子和熊，后来胜过大力的歌利亚。当狮子来攫夺羊羔的时侯，他看为一个非常的机会。若是他失败了，或者惊恐，逃跑了，他就失去了神所给他的机会，恐怕以后也会失去作神所拣选的以色列王的资格。

　　“有时来了狮子”。人从来不想狮子是从神那里来的一个特别的祝福；人总是把牠看为一件不幸的，受惊吓的事情。岂知这是神化装的祝福。每一次临到我们的苦难和试炼，若是我们用正当的方法接受，都是神给我们的机会和祝福。

　　当狮子来的时侯，不管牠外表如何可怕，你该认作这是神给你的机会。神的会幕外面是用公羊皮和海狗皮作顶盖的；人从来不想那里有神的荣耀。岂知耶和华的荣耀就在掩盖之中。但愿神开启我们的眼睛，叫我们无论在患难中，试炼中，危险中，不幸中，都能彀看见神。

1 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 despoil   

v.夺取，抢夺

参考例句：

• The victorious army despoil the city of all its treasure.得胜的军队把城里的财宝劫掠一空。
• He used his ruthless and destructive armies despoil everybody who lived within reach of his realm.他动用其破坏性的军队残暴地掠夺国内的人民。

4 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

5 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

6 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

7 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

8 badgers   

n.獾( badger的名词复数 )；獾皮；（大写）獾州人（美国威斯康星州人的别称）；毛鼻袋熊

参考例句：

• Badgers had undermined the foundations of the church. 獾在这座教堂的地基处打了洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And rams ' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. 5染红的公羊皮，海狗皮，皂荚木。 来自互联网