As we study the life of Jesus Christ, we see that He responds to opposition in one of three ways. Sometimes, like a lion, He fights back with boldness - cleansing the temple with whip in hand, denouncing the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites, daring he who is without sin to cast the first stone. Sometimes, like a lamb, He silently bears the ridicule and the abuse heaped upon Him - His refusal to plead His case to the men with authority to order His execution springs to mind. And sometimes, like an eagle, He knows when it is time to flee, when neither fighting nor patiently enduring will suffice - like when He slipped away from the angry mob that tried to throw Him off a cliff, or the angry mob that tried to stone Him. We can see countless other examples throughout the scriptures of times when righteous men and women have sought guidance and divine assistance from God in the face of deadly opposition and have been prompted alternately to fight, to flee, or to submit to subjugation. This can be hard for us to figure out on our own which is the best course, and sometimes the guidance we get from God doesn't line up with our own hopes or expectations. Sometimes we want to fight when we must flee, or sometimes we want to flee when it's time to tough it out, and maybe sometimes we'd just feel much more comfortable staying in our lane, not ruffling any feathers, when really it's time to put up our dukes and fight. It isn't obvious why some of God's servants stand and fight and miraculously win the day, while others - equally righteous - follow their God into battle and are killed for their troubles. Why do some people have to wait six months and some people have to wait six decades for the same answer? We don't always get to know the reasons right away. But what we can do is make an honest and humble assessment of whether our current crisis requires us to be the lion, the lamb, or the eagle. Staying to fight the armies of Egypt like a lion rather than fleeing across the dry seabed of the Red Sea like an eagle would have been the wrong call. In a country full of quivering lambs, only David had the courage to fight like a lion. The people of Limhi tried first to be lions, finally accepted being lambs, and then finally were given permission to flee like eagles. We are never wrong to fight or to flee or to patiently endure as long as we are being guided by the Spirit. The Savior was variously all three at many different points. Are we greater than He?
