Published: January 17, 2026 at 04:32 PM

Tags: books, pilgrims-progress, reading, gospel, christian-life, chapter-11

Having recovered his scroll and pressed on up the hill, Christian now meets another test, not of strength this time, but of courage.

Timorous and Mistrust

Near the top of the Hill Difficulty, Christian meets two men running the other way: Timorous and Mistrust. Their faces are pale, their nerves shattered. They breathlessly warn Christian that there are lions further up the road, and that anyone who values his life should turn back at once.

Christian is shaken. He feels the fear they describe, yet he also remembers how far he has already come and what it cost him to get here. Turning back would mean undoing everything. He decides, with trembling but real resolve, to go forward in the King’s name.

When he finally reaches the lions, he discovers the truth: they are indeed terrible, but they are also chained. They can roar and lunge, but they cannot actually reach him so long as he keeps to the narrow path. What looked like certain death at a distance turns out to be a test of faith under the careful limits of God’s hand.

Proverbs 28:1 (KJV)

[1] The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Fearful dangers lose their power when seen in the light of God’s truth.