The Mountain Lion on the Pacific Crest Trail

In 2019, hiker Kyle Burgess was jogging a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail near Slate Canyon, Utah, when a cougar began stalking him. For six agonizing minutes — captured on his phone — the cat lunged, hissed, and closed the distance. Every instinct screamed at Kyle to run. But park rangers had drilled one rule into every hiker who passed through: never turn your back on a mountain lion. Stand tall. Make yourself big. Hold your ground.

So Kyle did. He kept facing the animal, speaking firmly, refusing to flee. And then something remarkable happened — the cougar broke. It turned and bolted into the brush.

Wildlife biologists confirm the pattern. Mountain lions are ambush predators wired to chase anything that runs. But when prey refuses to flee — when it stands firm and faces the threat — the predator loses its advantage and retreats.

James understood this dynamic long before modern biology named it. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The sequence matters. We first plant ourselves in the authority of the Almighty — that is our high ground. Then, from that place of submission, we turn and face the enemy rather than running. We do not fight in our own strength. We stand in God's, eyes forward, voice steady.

And the one who prowls like a roaring lion? He flees.