"There was also Benaniah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moab's mightiest warriors. Another time he chases a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaniah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it." 2 Samuel 23:20-21
I discovered it while reading a book called "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. My friend, Kristy, asked me to read this a long time ago. So, I finally picked it up about a week ago and it said exactly what I needed to hear.
The back of the book read "What if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure....your greatest fear?"
Mark explains that Benaniah didn't run away from the lion, but chased it down. Not only that, but it was snowing outside. Not only that, but he chased the lion into a pit, jumped into the pit, and killed it with his bare hangs! That lion is everything we fear. And until we decide to chase it down and conquer it, it will be chasing us for the rest of our lives.
The lion definintly had better odds than Benaniah. The conditions were in the lions favor, but lion was the one who ran away. God turned what could have been a big problem into a great resume for Benaniah to be later strategically positioned into the administration of David.
"..God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time...Most people would have seen the lion as a five-hundred pound problem, but not Benaniah...lion chasers are wired differently." (Mark Batterson)
When I read this scripture, I had a five-hundred pound problem: Labor. I had a lot of fear that was surrounding it. After reading this, I realized that I do not need to fear it. Not only that, but I realized that God was replacing my fear with trust and peace in Him. This book really encouraged me to grab this opportunity that God was giving me to not only survive, but THRIVE! Now I KNOW that I can do this and am 110% ready.
"[God] is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities. But those God-given opportunities often come disquised as man-eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lion will determine our destiny. We can cower in fear and run away from our challenges. Or we can chase our God-ordained destiny by seizing the God-ordained opportunities....the greatest opportunities are the scariest lions." (Matt Batterson)
Choosing to see this labor as an opportunity to grow and show God's glory is not even an option for me now. I know it's the only path to take. I'm excited about the whole process and pray that God will be able to use me as a vessel to inspire others to be Lion Chasers of their destinies. And one thing that we can all take comfort in knowing is that our God LOVES impossible odds! So no matter what, all bets should be on us.
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