David Livingstone’s Lion

Philippians 4:6-7
“Be careful for nothing … And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Here, medical missionary Dr. David Livingstone speaks to us from his diary, written in 1872. He tells about God’s mercy as he experienced being the intended victim of a lion, “red in tooth and claw.”

“I heard a shout. Starting and looking half around, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. I was on a little height; he caught my shoulder as he sprang and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake by a cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking around at the beast. The peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by carnivora; and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death.”

Prayer:
Dear Lord, We know that the general rule in nature is to be eaten alive and we are reminded that many of Your people suffered horrible deaths as martyrs. While all this is the result of man’s sin, we thank You for this insight of Your mercy, revealed to us through your servant, David Livingstone. Amen.

Notes:
Livingstone, David, 1872. Adventures and Discoveries in the Interior of Africa (Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers. pp. 96, 102, 103). Photo: David Livingstone memorial at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Courtesy of Tim Rogers. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation 1.2 License.