A WILD and careless young fellow named William Stephens had enlisted as a soldier. After a time he was ordered off to Africa with his regiment, and while there had a strange and dreadful experience.
One afternoon as a few of the soldiers were going through a forest, William somehow got separated from his companions, and could not find them. On, on, on, he wandered, vainly trying to get out of the forest, but every step seemed to entangle him more and more in its mazes. At last the day began to wear away, and the shadows crept on the scene. Poor William was getting very tired and hungry, and wished himself safely among his comrades at the camp. But still he toiled on, hoping against hope that he might escape from his dangerous position, until at length the dark night came on, and with it the cries of wild beasts, seeking their prey.
At length our soldier friend was quite exhausted, and feeling unable to walk any further, crept into a cave and lay down to rest.
We could wish that he slept peacefully in his strange bedroom!
But no! William was not to get any sleep that night, for before many minutes had passed, he was startled by a roar, and soon afterwards another and louder one made his blood run cold. Looking out of the entrance of his cave, he saw by the moonlight an immense lion coming towards him; and then the truth flashed into his mind that he was resting in a lion’s bedroom!
Quicker than I can write he decided what to do; he must pretend to be asleep, as this was the only chance of the wild beast sparing him. So he lay perfectly still with his eyes closed, and presently with a terrific roar, that seemed to make the very ground shake, the lion bounded in. William felt his hot breath upon his face, the lion licking him all over, as the poor fellow feared, preparatory to tearing him in pieces.
Then William cried out to God in real earnest, and begged that he might be delivered from the lion, and promised that if his life were spared, he would become a Christian, return to England, and preach the gospel. Has not God said: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me"? Psa. 50:15.
At any rate God heard his cry and in mercy shut the lion’s mouth. The king of beasts laid quietly down by the side of the young soldier having probably already eaten a good supper, and soon went off to sleep. But before doing so he put his paw on William’s chest, and gripped his shoulder with his claws as though in a vice, as if to say, “I’ll have you for my breakfast in the morning, and will take good care you don’t run away in the night.”
Oh, what a time of suspense and agony this was for the soldier, and he did plead to the Lord with all his heart that he might get away from the powerful beast! At last, when the lion appeared to be sleeping very soundly, William managed to extricate one arm, and gently unlocked the claws from their terrible grip, his heart beating very fast, as may be imagined. Would the movement wake the monster? If so, one stroke of that great paw would instantly dash his brains out. But no! his strange bedfellow did not wake, so he slowly tried to move the heavy paw from his chest, and at last laid it down on the ground. The next thing was to creep out of the cave without making the slightest noise, and this God enabled him to do, and thus to make his escape.
William did not forget the prose he made to God in the time of his distress. He returned to England as soon as he was able to do so, and at a little prayer meeting in his native village told the thrilling story of his adventure, and how he had promised to be a Christian, concluding by asking those present to plead that he might have all his sins forgiven.
You can imagine what joy this gave the good people, and what earnest prayers followed; how some gathered round him and told him the old, old story of the Saviour’s love; how He came from Heaven on purpose to seek and save lost sinners — how He lived a life of sorrow; how He, who made the world, had not where to lay His head; how He was falsely accused, insulted, spat upon, ridiculed, cruelly beaten, and at last nailed to the cross between two thieves. They told him how He prayed for his murderers, saved the repentant thief, bore the jeerings of the mob, and at last cried, “It is finished"; how He was laid in the grave, but rose again, and went back to heaven, after He had told His disciples to go into the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15); and how those who trust in His name shall receive forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43). They told him how he was really under the paw of Satan, the roaring lion of hell, a more terrible monster by far than the sleeping one in the cave, but that Christ had come to destroy the works of the devil, and would deliver him, if he only trusted in Him.
So William fell down on his knees in that little schoolroom and cried to the Lord to save his soul, just as he had cried for deliverance from the African lion, and he heard the Lord say, “Yes. Go in peace; thy sins are forgiven.”
From that time he became a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and witnessed to others of the wonderful grace of God, until at a good old age he went home to see Him who loved and gave Himself for him, and to receive His reward. He was buried in the little village where he had lived and labored for Christ, and I have stood beside his grave surrounded by a crowd of children, who were delighted to hear the story of his encounter with the lion.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:13.
Memory Verse: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12
ML-03/28/1976