I saw something today that I’ve never seen before. On top of a neighbor’s roof, I witnessed a feathery version of David and Goliath. A tiny little bird of an unknown variety (there are a LOT of those here in Florida!) was dive-bombing a very large hawk. Now, I’ve seen birds dive at each other before, but never with such a large size difference. I watched for a solid five minutes as this little guy screeched and pecked and flew at the hawk’s head with dogged determination as the hawk sat perfectly still, seemingly unfazed. All of a sudden, though, it apparently became too much, and the hawk fled. He didn’t lift off with stoic indifference. He fled.

Now, this was all very interesting to me, as I’ve been studying perseverance through trials that we face and learning to lean on God’s strength instead of our own. In fact, just this morning, I read something by Max Lucado called Nevertheless. Here’s an excerpt:

And the king and his men… spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” … Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).- 2 Sam. 5:6–9

Did you see it? Most hurry past it. Let’s not. Pull out a pen and underline this twelve-letter masterpiece. Nevertheless.

“Nevertheless David took the stronghold …”

Wouldn’t you love God to write a nevertheless in your biography? Born to alcoholics, nevertheless she led a sober life. Never went to college, nevertheless he mastered a trade. Didn’t read the Bible until retirement age, nevertheless he came to a deep and abiding faith.
We all need a nevertheless. And God has plenty to go around. Strongholds mean nothing to him. Remember Paul’s words? “We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4 NLT)

Just like David to Goliath (or in Max’s piece, David to Zion), that little tiny bird was no match for the big hawk – NEVERTHELESS he succeeded in making the hawk flee. He persevered in the face of huge opposition and used the strength that only God could give him to triumph over it. A fabulous illustration in nature of what God has for us if we only persevere, allowing God’s strength to cover our inadequacies.