Hank Smith:                      00:03                   Welcome to followHIM Favorites. John and I share a single story to go with each week’s Come, Follow Me lesson. John, we are in Isaiah 40 through 49, and you have a story.

John Bytheway:               00:14                   I do. I’m kind of looking at Isaiah 41 verse 10, “Fear not for I am with thee, be not dismayed.” We can hear how firm a foundation in that scripture. This article appeared in FSY Magazine by Elder Michael A. Dunn. He was training to go run, and this happened. He said, “This was a classic training run. I was trying to build up my strength and endurance for a marathon two months away. Runners increase strength by doing repeated short distance runs, and this short distance run was 15 miles.”

Hank Smith:                      00:48                   Oh, of course, as one does.

John Bytheway:               00:51                   He says, “This builds endurance, which in turn toughens resilience. Little did I know. I would soon need every drop of resilience and power I had because I would be in for the race of my life. Looking back, I should have seen the signs. The Lord tells us he will show us things to come through the power of the Holy Ghost.” And he quoted Elder Gary E. Stevenson who said, “The Holy Ghost can help you by warning you in advance of physical and spiritual dangers.” That he did. He said, “Just a few minutes into my run, I glanced down and spotted something.” Hank, this is when I’m done. “My heart jumped when I saw the unmistakable outline of a bear track in the dirt in front of me. It was a clear warning. Foolishly, I rationalized that a bear had indeed passed this way, but by now, I would be safe. No need to worry.

                                           01:40                   And so I ran. Less than an hour later, I had crested a small rise, ran down a hill into a heavily wooded clearing. As I rounded a bend at the bottom of the hill, I heard a crashing sound so intense, so severe that it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I stopped instantly and slowly glanced to my left, then I froze in terror. The sound which I quickly identified as breaking branches was coming at a high speed. Then I saw a sight I will never forget, a full-grown grizzly bear charging directly toward me. The horrific attack that followed should have taken my life. This was obviously a very agitated bear, which I had surprised as I dropped into that clearing at a dead run. Yet that moment when I thought death was certain, what followed was the sincerest prayer of my life.”

Hank Smith:                      02:34                   Oh, wow.

John Bytheway:               02:34                   Can you imagine? “The intervening mercies of heaven then descended. Inexplicably, the bear stopped his relentless attack and ran off into the woods. That was good news. The bad news was I had 16 severe wounds from the bear’s teeth and claws and was alone in a forest covered in blood and 11 miles from the nearest park road with no help in sight.” Suddenly Isaiah 41:10 comes to mind. “I suddenly found myself at a major decision point. If you haven’t had such a moment, be assured you will. Adversity is part of Heavenly Father’s plan. Fortunately, getting attacked by a bear isn’t, at least for most of us.”

Hank Smith:                      03:18                   Yeah, I was going to say.

John Bytheway:               03:20                   “As these crises crossroads in your life, you have a decision to make. You can give up, lie down, and die, or you can somehow rally all your courage and strength and fight on trusting that if you will do your part, the Lord will do his.”

Hank Smith:                      03:35                   Wow.

John Bytheway:               03:35                   “This is exactly what happened to me.” I love this. “Instead of giving up, I decided to get up. I was determined to live, which meant I needed to find help, stumbling my way down the trail for more than a mile.” I mean, he’s wounded, he says he got blood all over him. “I finally crossed paths with the only other people in the forest that day for miles. That miraculous meeting eventually led to a back country helicopter rescue, three life-saving surgeries, and a clear understanding of the blessing of being determined to hold on thy way. This experience has increased my power, determination and faith. It also strengthened and prepared me to handle other challenges of life. I’m certain that as you,” and I love how he did this, “as you bear all things,” that’s good, huh? “Believe all things, hope all things and endure all things, you will build the resilience and strength you need to face challenges.

                                           04:31                   You will see the Lord’s hand making you equal to whatever comes your way, even if it is in the very jaws of hell.” Wow. There it is. “Fear not, I am with you. Be not dismayed. For I am thy God, I will strengthen thee. I will help thee. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” And Hank, you know what I love about this? He saw the sign and he decided to go forward. Did the Lord say, okay, nevermind.

Hank Smith:                      04:57                   Can’t help you.

John Bytheway:               04:58                   No. He was still with him. And when he said that prayer, I bet one of Elder Dunn’s questions in the next life will be, why did the bear just turn and leave?

Hank Smith:                      05:09                   Right.

John Bytheway:               05:10                   Divine intervention.

Hank Smith:                      05:11                   Yeah. Did King David come?

John Bytheway:               05:13                   King David showed up. I got a sling.

Hank Smith:                      05:16                   I’ve done this before, you know.

John Bytheway:               05:18                   Done this before.

Hank Smith:                      05:19                   Wow. I loved his phrase. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to get up.

John Bytheway:               05:23                   I’m going to get up. Oh, so good.

Hank Smith:                      05:25                   Powerful stuff. Oh, thanks, John. We hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We’re with Dr. S. Michael Wilcox this week, and if you’ve ever been taught by Michael Wilcox, you know it’s going to be a profound moving experience, which it is for us and it can be for you. Then come back here next week. We’ll do another followHIM favorites.